What SEC deadline applied to the Bitwise XRP ETF rule change in 2025, and how did the fund come to trade on November 20, 2025?

The full answer

What deadline did the SEC set for the Bitwise XRP ETF rule change?

In a notice dated August 18, 2025, the SEC designated October 22, 2025 as the date by which it had to either approve or disapprove a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the Bitwise XRP ETF [1]. Cboe BZX Exchange filed that rule change with the SEC on February 6, 2025 under Rule 19b-4, proposing to list and trade shares of the fund [1]. The Division of Trading and Markets issued the notice for the Commission under delegated authority [1].

The date written in the notice is October 22, 2025. October 20 does not appear in it [1].

How the SEC reached October 22, 2025

The filing went through several fixed steps. It was published for comment in the Federal Register on February 24, 2025 [1]. On March 11, 2025 the SEC set a longer review period and named May 25, 2025 as the date to approve, disapprove or start proceedings [1]. It started proceedings on May 22, 2025 [1].

Once proceedings begin, the law requires an order no later than 180 days after publication, and the SEC’s notice puts that day at August 23, 2025 [1]. The SEC may extend that period by not more than 60 days. In the August 18 notice it took the additional 60 days [1].

Did the Bitwise XRP ETF need its own 19b-4 approval?

The ground shifted a month after the notice. On September 17, 2025 the SEC voted to approve rule changes by three national securities exchanges adopting generic listing standards for exchange-traded products that hold spot commodities, including digital assets [2]. Under those standards, exchanges may list and trade qualifying Commodity-Based Trust Shares without first submitting a rule change under Section 19(b) [2]. Jamie Selway, director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, said the approval gave “a rational, rules-based approach to bring products to market while ensuring investor protections” [2].

That press release does not name XRP or the Bitwise fund [2]. Whether the Bitwise fund relied on those standards is not stated in it, and a general explainer on what an XRP ETF is and when they were approved covers the wider rule change.

How the fund came to trade on November 20, 2025

Bitwise announced on November 19, 2025 that it was launching the Bitwise XRP ETF on NYSE, with trading set to start on November 20, 2025 under the ticker XRP [3]. The company said the fund would hold spot XRP and charge a 0.34% management fee, waived for the first month on the first $500 million in assets [3].

The listing venue differs from the original filing. Cboe BZX had asked to list the fund on BZX [1], while Bitwise’s announcement named NYSE [3]. For how the Bitwise fund sits beside the other US products, the comparison of which XRP ETFs exist and what they charge lists them side by side. In an order dated August 18, 2025, the SEC designated October 22, 2025 as the date by which it would either approve or disapprove Cboe BZX’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the Bitwise XRP ETF.

Where the fund stood in September 2026

Finbold reported on September 30, 2026 that the Bitwise XRP ETF took in $177.94 million over the prior three months and held $618.81 million in assets at publication [4].

Risks Bitwise itself disclosed

The strongest cautions come from Bitwise’s own launch announcement. The fund is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it lacks the protections that law gives registered funds [3]. Bitwise also wrote that there is limited use of XRP in retail, commercial or payments settings today, and that speculators make up a large share of users [3]. It added that large XRP holdings by Ripple Labs and other early stakeholders could weigh on XRP’s market price [3]. The fund’s own filing is covered in what the Bitwise XRP ETF prospectus says about fees and custody.