Nasdaq, the tech stock giant that needs no fanfare, has just made a move straight out of BlackRock’s playbook with their IBIT Bitcoin ETF. They’ve greenlit the Canary XRP ETF (XRPC) for trading starting today, 13 November 2025, the first pure spot XRP product in the US, holding actual coins in cold storage.
Steering the ship is Canary Capital, a sharp crypto crew led by CEO Steven McClurg, a veteran who’s launched Bitcoin and Ethereum funds before. They’re the ones who pushed this through the SEC gates last week, betting big on XRP as the next institutional albatross. It’s a lean, focused play, classic underdog energy in a market ruled by titans.
XRP itself? It’s the token with Hollywood sparkle, remember Ashton Kutcher sending $4 million worth live on Ellen back in 2018 to back Ripple’s vision. It never hit the wild $100 predictions from its early days, but it’s weathered through every crypto winter, quietly building a rep in cross-border payments.
What makes it tick?
At its core is the XRP Ledger, a distributed tech nova that settles deals in seconds for pocket change, perfect for banks and payment giants tired of slow, pricey wires. Bitcoin runs on a global community of miners, like an open-source project kept alive by volunteers; Ethereum and Solana have foundations with war chests for upgrades. XRP? It’s powered by Ripple Labs, a proper for-profit outfit with real revenue to pour into security and speed. That corporate backbone makes it feel less like a wild experiment, more like a bank-grade hedge against chaos.
Sure, no blockchain’s unhackable, but XRP’s design shrugs off the exchange breaches that’ve gutted Bitcoin holders in the past (Ronin Network’s $620 million swipe in 2022, or Bybit’s $1.5 billion nightmare earlier this year?). Regulators like IOSCO keep warning about crypto’s rough edges, and fair enough, but a polished platform like this? It’s built to weather the storm.
Bottom line: XRP’s been cruising steady. Now with this ETF lighting the runway and pros like Canary in the cockpit, that patient climb could turn into lift-off. If Solana’s fund drew crowds last year, this one’s got the story to pull even harder. Strap in.