With the saga pitting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple Labs seemingly coming to a close after four grueling years, experts say the path is now clear for an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

Nate Geraci, a well-regarded ETF analyst, has voiced optimism about the future of XRP ETFs, stating that with the legal uncertainties resolved, major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity will likely apply for financial products tracking Ripple’s native token.

The Path to XRP ETFs in the U.S.

In a March 26 post on X, the ETF Store President wrote:

“Seems obvious spot XRP ETF approval simply matter of time IMO. And yes, I expect BlackRock, Fidelity, etc to all be involved.”

He also highlighted that XRP is one of the largest crypto assets by market cap, boasting a value of north of $144 billion. In his opinion, this will ensure that the largest ETF issuers in the country won’t ignore the potential the asset holds.

While the SEC has been cautious about approving altcoin ETFs, Geraci believes the agency will eventually relent. He also emphasized the growing debate within the investment community over whether broad crypto index ETFs or single-asset ones will dominate the market. The analyst remains bullish on the expansion of such financial products, even though he thinks the regulator will “draw a line” at some point over what to approve or not.

Ripple’s legal tussle with the SEC was always considered one of the biggest impediments to getting an XRP ETF approved. The clash started in 2020 when the financial watchdog alleged that the crypto payments company conducted unregistered securities sales using its XRP token.

However, in 2023, in a landmark win for crypto, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP didn’t violate securities laws. However, she declared that institutional sales of the same asset were against the law, slapping Ripple with a $125 million fine. The SEC then filed an appeal against the ruling, with Ripple responding with a cross-appeal of its own, dragging the case even longer.

A Long-Awaited Conclusion

After months of legal back-and-forth, a new-look SEC dropped its appeal, with Ripple following suit days later. The company relinquished its complaint and agreed to pay a reduced $50 million fine out of the initial $125 million judgment, with the remainder refunded.

The probable conclusion of the case and speculation of a likely ETF saw XRP surge past $2.5 before settling slightly lower. Currently, the cryptocurrency is trading at $2.45, a slight 1.3% increase over 24 hours. However, it is up 7.3% across seven days, outperforming the broader crypto market, which registered gains of only 2% in that time.