Volatility Shares Pushes Leveraged XRP ETF Launch to Year-End: What’s Behind the Delay?
Another crypto ETF hits a speed bump—just in time for the holidays.
Volatility Shares, the firm that helped kick off the spot Bitcoin ETF frenzy, is hitting pause on its leveraged XRP offering. The launch, initially anticipated sooner, now targets the final days of 2025. No official reason was given, leaving the usual suspects—regulatory fine-print, product structuring, or just waiting for a friendlier market mood—to fill the silence.
Timing is Everything (Or So They Say)
Moving a launch to year-end is a classic Wall Street maneuver. It lets you roll out the 'new' product just in time for annual reports and next year's strategy decks, a trick as old as claiming 'blockchain, not crypto.' For XRP, a token that's spent more time in courtrooms than on bull runs lately, the delay might be a blessing in disguise. It dodges potential volatility and lets the legal dust settle further.
The Leveraged ETF Game
Leveraged ETFs are the espresso shots of the trading world: quick, potent, and likely to leave you jittery if you overdo it. They amplify daily returns—both up and down—using derivatives and debt. For a token like XRP, known for its sharp moves, a 2x or 3x leveraged product isn't for the faint of heart. It's a tool for short-term traders, not the 'set it and forget it' crowd. The delay suggests Volatility Shares is ensuring the plumbing can handle the pressure.
So, mark your calendars for late December. Whether this is strategic patience or regulatory necessity, one thing's clear: in crypto finance, the launch date is always a suggestion until the SEC's tacit nod—or lack of a lawsuit—makes it real.
Delay, not denial
The MOVE is procedural rather than punitive. Delays of this type are common in the ETF approval process, particularly for leveraged and derivatives-based products that draw closer regulatory scrutiny.
Market participants tracking the filing noted that the amendment does not reflect new objections from the SEC, nor does it indicate a rejection. Instead, it keeps the product alive while aligning its launch window with early 2026.
Crypto-focused account BankXRP described the filing as a “routine delay,” adding that the revised timeline points to a potential Q1 debut rather than a cancellation.
🎙️XRP ETF UPDATE Volatility Shares just filed a 485BXT for its 2x XRP ETF XRPT
✅ The Move: A routine filing to delay the official launch date.
📅 New Target: Jan 22, 2026.
The Goal: Keeping the first leveraged XRP ETF on track for a Q1 debut. pic.twitter.com/gVmM2fs8fR
Leveraged XRP appetite remains intact
The delay comes as Volatility Shares continues to expand its XRP product lineup. In May, the firm launched the first 1x XRP futures ETF in the U.S., trading under the ticker XRPI, aimed at investors seeking non-leveraged exposure.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Volatility Shares’ existing 2x XRP ETF has already attracted roughly $120 million in assets and trades about $35 million in daily volume, indicating persistent demand for structured XRP exposure.
XRP price steadies amid ETF headlines
XRP spent Christmas Eve going nowhere fast. The token hovered around $1.85, with roughly $1.9 billion in 24-hour volume, as holiday-thinned markets sucked the energy out of price action, according to CoinMarketCap. Traders fixated on a narrow map: lose $1.85 and things get uncomfortable, reclaim $1.92–$2.00 and momentum might finally wake up.
For now, spot prices look tired, but the story hasn’t shifted. ETF headlines and structural bets are still doing the real work behind the scenes, quietly shaping expectations for what comes after the holidays.
To keep watching
Volatility Shares’ filing resets the clock, not the thesis. Leveraged XRP products are already in the wild, and spot XRP ETF proposals are still sitting on the SEC’s desk. The direction is hard to miss: XRP is being pulled, step by step, into regulated market plumbing, not left on the fringe.
Whether a 5x XRP ETF actually makes it out the door will hinge on how much risk regulators are willing to tolerate in early 2026. For now, the filing reflects a pause in timing rather than a shift in direction.
Also read: xrp price Muted as Negative Sentiment Signals Potential Rebound
