Benzinga - XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) holders were left momentarily spellbound as a reported “BlackRock iShares XRP Trust” filing sent the cryptocurrency’s price soaring.
What Happened: This euphoria was short-lived as it turned out that the filing in Delaware, which was responsible for a rapid 12% increase in XRP’s price within a mere 30 minutes, was nothing but a hoax.
A spokesperson from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, confirmed the fraudulent nature of the filing to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, stating, “This is false.”
This is false! Confirmed by BlackRock by me. Some whacko must have added using BlackRock executive name etc. Cmon man. pic.twitter.com/cDpnycYwjQ— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 13, 2023
Why It Matters: BlackRock recently made headlines with its legitimate registration of the “iShares Ethereum Trust” in Delaware, which added fuel to the speculative fires of the cryptocurrency markets.
The deception with XRP’s trust registration used identical address and contact details to BlackRock’s authentic Ethereum filing, creating a misleading sense of validity.
On the Flip Side: This incident adds to a series of deceptive news that has hit the crypto industry while anticipation builds over ETF approvals. In October, a similar fake report claimed that the SEC had greenlighted BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application, driving Bitcoin’s price up by 10% before it nosedived upon the news being debunked.
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The Bigger Picture: When BlackRock confirmed that the registration of its “iShares Ethereum Trust” entity was legitimate, Ethereum’s price surged past the $2,000 mark for the first time in months.
Notably, these market movements reinforce the high sensitivity of cryptocurrency prices to news and expectations regarding institutional acceptance and product offerings from major players like BlackRock, with its staggering $9 trillion in assets under management.
Thoughts are now turning towards the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as a window opens for the potential approval of up to 12 Bitcoin ETF applications. Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas pointed out that after the SEC extended its deadline for pending ETF applications, a brief period starting November 9 could lead to possible approvals.
Despite the conjecture, there has yet to be any definitive indication from the SEC regarding the approval of Bitcoin ETFs.
In July 2023, Ripple expressed optimism that following a pivotal court decision not classifying XRP as a security, U.S. banks and financial institutions would begin to embrace XRP for international payments. The blockchain company anticipates increased adoption of XRP in the wake of the legal clarity. Since then many crypto community members have called it "The Bankers Coin.'
Price Action: At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $0.65 up 0.01% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo Courtesy: Diamond Visuals On Shutterstock.com
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