Since Monday, discussions around the mysterious BlackRock XRP ETF filing that appeared in Delaware have dominated the crypto space. The news of the filing was initially debunked by Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, but recent developments have raised suspicions that the filing was actually made by BlackRock.
BlackRock XRP ETF Could Be Filed By Anyone
One interesting revelation that has come from the BlackRock XRP ETF debacle is the fact that pretty much anyone can make an ETF Trust. Pro-XRP attorney Jeremy Hogan revealed this on X (formerly Twitter), saying that anyone could actually spoof an “XRP ETF” Trust.
Hogan explains that while the filing is real, it is fraudulent and could be cheaply made with just $500. Apparently, all that is needed for such a Trust to appear on the Delaware Corp. Commission website is to fill out two documents. These include the ‘State of Delaware Certificate of Trust’ and the ‘State of Delaware – Division of Corporations’ documents. Then once the $500 fee is paid, Hogan says the filing then gets “a ‘placeholder’ on the state website.”
The attorney reasons that whoever did this may have tried to replicate what happened when BlackRock filed for an Ethereum spot ETF. “criminal saw what happened with the Eth trust filing, files the XRP trust “filing,” buys $100k xrp on leverage, sells at 74 cents, and pockets 2-3 million dollars.” On the other end of this, Hogan also reasons that maybe “Blackrock has clients who want exposure to XRP and have begun the process.”
Details Of The ‘Fake’ ETF Filing
Another attorney, Fred Rispoli, also took to X (formerly Twitter) to give their own two cents on the BlackRock XRP ETF situation. Rispoli confirmed what Hogan said about anyone being able to fake such a filing and having it listed on the site. But other than that, the attorney went into the details of the filing.
The XRP Trust filing reportedly matches the BlackRock Ethereum ETF filing with the exception of the name being changed and the date of the filing being different. However, the XRP Trust has a different registered agent than the BlackRock Bitcoin Trust but shares the same one with the Ethereum Trust.
Rispoli adds that only the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin filing is currently listed on the SEC’s Edgar site, which is where filings with the regulator are listed. There is no trace of an iShares Ethereum and XRP Trust. “However, the Bitcoin Delaware filing preceded the SEC Registration statement by 7 days (6/8/23, 6/15/23),” the attorney said.
He also added that there were no trademarks filed by BlackRock for all its crypto trusts filed this year, including the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP ones. However, this is not out of the ordinary since the asset manager does not trademark all of its products.
Finally, Rispoli explains that even if the BlackRock XRP Trust filing were true, it wouldn’t be the first one. That actually goes to Grayscale, which ran an XRP Trust between 2018 and 2021. However, the asset manager discontinued this trust after the SEC sued Ripple over alleged securities violations.
Even though Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas had said that an insider at BlackRock had denied that the asset manager filed the XRP Trust, the filing remained on the Delaware Corp. Commission website.
This raised skepticism among investors who began to speculate that maybe the asset manager may have made the filing after all. “If it was fake, it would’ve been delisted by now,” WhaleWire said on X.
It’s been over 6 hours, and the iShares $XRP Trust filing is still actively listed on the ICIS Delaware website. If it was fake, it would’ve been delisted by now.
Also, in order to apply, you must have TWO notorized witnesses & the Grantor MUST sign the documents, as well as… pic.twitter.com/Uup7wy0Xvp
— WhaleWire (@WhaleWire) November 13, 2023
At the time of this writing, there is still no official word from BlackRock on whether the filing is legit or not. However, Eric Balchunas has stated that a BlackRock spokesperson has confirmed the filing is fake.
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