March 11 (Reuters) - Franklin Templeton is

planning to launch an exchange-traded fund that will track the

spot price of cryptocurrency XRP, underscoring the increasing

appetite of asset managers for digital assets beyond bitcoin.

Franklin's filing on Tuesday is the latest in a series of

spot cryptocurrency ETF filings by asset managers, who expect a

more receptive approach from the Securities and Exchange

Commission during the administration led by President Donald

Trump.

Last month, Franklin Templeton also filed for an ETF that

will track the spot price of Solana. Earlier in January,

Grayscale Investments launched a fund tied to Dogecoin.

XRP, the world's fourth-largest cryptocurrency

created by U.S. crypto firm Ripple, has a market capitalization

of about $124 billion, according to CoinGecko data.

XRP is also among a string of cryptocurrencies that Trump

wants to be part of a new strategic reserve. The digital asset

has more than tripled in the past 12 months.

Franklin's ETF, tracking XRP, is set for listing on the Cboe

BZX Exchange. The company has appointed Coinbase as the

custodian for the fund's XRP holdings.