XRP Gets a Big Boost from Wall Street

Franklin Templeton, a well-known name in finance, has jumped into the XRP game. They just launched an ETF called the Franklin XRP Trust (XRPZ) on the NYSE Arca. This means investors can now get their hands on XRP through a regulated product. Franklin isn't the only one doing this. Other big players like Bitwise, Grayscale, and Canary Capital are already in the mix. This isn't Franklin's first rodeo with crypto. They already have ETFs for bitcoin (EZBC), ether (EZET), and a diversified digital asset fund (EZPZ). Now, with XRPZ, they're giving investors more options to dip their toes into the crypto world without the hassle of managing it themselves. David Mann, who heads up ETF products at Franklin, thinks XRP is pretty important. He says it's a key part of the global settlement system. That's a fancy way of saying it helps move money around the world. Things haven't always been smooth sailing for XRP. Back in 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, the company behind XRP, saying they sold it as an unregistered security. This caused a lot of exchanges to drop XRP. But the lawsuit finally wrapped up in August 2025, with Ripple paying a $125 million settlement. No one admitted any wrongdoing, but it was a big deal for XRP. Since then, things have been looking up for XRP. Regulators are starting to make the rules clearer, and more big players are getting involved. Franklin's ETF is just one example of this trend. Roger Bayston, who leads digital assets at Franklin, thinks XRP is a big deal. He says it helps drive innovation in blockchain and aligns the interests of different stakeholders. The ETF structure makes it easy for both big and small investors to get involved, with daily pricing and SEC oversight. Grayscale also launched an XRP ETF on the same day. This shows that XRP is gaining serious attention from institutional investors.