XRP Briefly Jumps 13%, Triggered by BlackRock’s XRP ETF Hoax

Ripple-affiliated XRP cryptocurrency experienced a sudden surge in price after a piece of news showed up on the internet suggesting that investment manager BlackRock had submitted a filing for an XRP-based ETF with the Delaware Department of State’s Division of Corporations. Markedly, the fake potential ETF which was titled “iShares XRP Trust” was published on Delaware’s website on Monday.

XRP Back to 6 Cents

Within 30 minutes after the ETF filing was listed on Delaware, it triggered the price of the XRP coin by 13%. As soon as the news was confirmed to be false, the XRP price returned to its former levels. At the time of this writing, the coin which is closely related to Ripple, is trading at $0.6645 with a 1.88% increase in the last 24 hours.

The filing for iShares XRP Trust was spotted by X app users who automatically questioned the authenticity of the application. It contained details that had a close resemblance to BlackRock’s filing for spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF with the United States SEC. These details include the name and address of its registered agent. 

BlackRock Denies Connection to XRP ETF

However, a spokesperson from the leading investment asset management firm clarified that BlackRock has no connection with the supposed XRP-based ETF. BlackRock’s iShares BTC Trust, which is still awaiting approval from the SEC has only been listed on Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) list, under the ticker symbol IBTC.

Seeing that BlackRock has denied any affiliation with the XRP ETF, there is still the question of “Who applied to Delaware for the iShares XRP Trust?”

Crypto Scam on The Rampage

At the same time, it is suggestive that some bad actors may be exploiting the recent anticipation and excitement of a spot Bitcoin ETF offering to deceive anxious crypto enthusiasts. The broad crypto industry has also recently been exposed to the spread of fake news including giveaways. Unsuspecting crypto users are the core targets of these illicit activities.

In September, creditors of defunct crypto lender Celsius Network received phishing emails with suspicious links from a sender who was trying to impersonate Stretto, the bankruptcy service platform that is responsible for the firm’s bankruptcy proceedings.