Now that the lengthy legal fight between Ripple and the SEC has officially concluded, the spotlight is quickly shifting toward the possibility of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). Interest in such a product is building momentum — and according to attorney John E. Deaton, Wall Street’s appetite may be too strong to ignore it.
Responding to ETF Store President Nate Geraci, who suggested that financial giants like BlackRock were likely waiting for the lawsuit’s outcome before launching an iShares XRP ETF, Deaton remarked simply: “Wall Street is too greedy not to.”
That comment came just as optimism around an XRP ETF approval began to slip. Data from prediction platform Polymarket showed approval odds dropping to 66% — the lowest since January. This dip followed reports that SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw had voted against all 13 crypto-related ETF proposals during the agency’s July 29 meeting.
But not everyone is buying the bearish sentiment. Bloomberg’s top ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out that their internal forecast hasn’t moved from a confident 95%. He noted that Crenshaw has consistently opposed crypto efforts, including Bitcoin ETFs and even the Ripple settlement — making her vote neither surprising nor decisive, especially when the majority of the Commission leans the other way.
The settlement in question, which Crenshaw opposed, was eventually thrown out by the court. Ripple then dropped its cross-appeal earlier this year, and the SEC recently followed suit, officially closing out the case from both ends.
With the legal dust now settled, the path is clear for big financial institutions to broaden their ETF offerings beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum. XRP — as one of the most established and liquid altcoins — represents a massive market opportunity. As Deaton sees it, that’s something Wall Street won’t likely pass up.
