Former Ripple Director Sean McBride has made a bullish prediction about the future of the XRP ecosystem. With the crypto community still buzzing from the SEC’s January approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), McBride notes that the XRPArmy can expect a spot XRP ETF to make its debut on the U.S. market sometime this year or in 2025. He also weighed in on the possibility of Ripple going public next year.

Ripple “Would Certainly Welcome” A Spot XRP ETF

Sean McBride, Ripple’s former Director of Global Talent Acquisition, has stirred interest within the crypto community by hinting at the potential launch of an XRP-based spot exchange-traded fund.

In a Tuesday post on X, McBride said: “You will see an XRP ETF in 2024 or 2025.”

On the same day, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated during a Bloomberg interview that the company would “certainly welcome” having XRP’s own set of ETFs approved by the SEC.

According to Garlinghouse, it is inevitable that there will be numerous ETFs around different crypto assets. While likening the current situation with the spot BTC ETFs to the early years of the equities market, the Ripple boss claimed it “only makes sense” to have other crypto-based ETFs. In his view, investors don’t want to be exposed to a single stock only but prefer to spread their investments across different assets.

Garlinghouse did not reveal whether Ripple is currently engaging with ETF providers. But he reiterated the company’s stance: “We think it makes sense for the XRP community overall.”

A Ripple IPO Outside U.S.

After being stuck in a lawsuit with the U.S. SEC since late 2020, Ripple has looked at other jurisdictions with clearer rules of the road for its initial public offering.

“In the United States, trying to go public with a very hostile regulator that’s approved your S-1, that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me. Coinbase obviously had their S-1 approved. And now the SEC is suing them for doing things that were outlined in their S-1,” Garlinghouse said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year.

Back in 2022, the Ripple chief said the firm would explore a public listing after its case with the SEC concludes. 

That said, a positive outcome in the lawsuit, coupled with potential U.S. spot ETF and a Ripple IPO, is painting a bullish picture for the XRP price, with market watchers proclaiming that a rally to the psychologically important $5 mark is inevitable.