XRP (XRP 11.91%) Is Rocketing Higher in Friday's Trading

XRP's valuation is surging following news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had acknowledged Grayscale's application for an exchange-traded fund (ETF)

Cryptocurrency XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) is surging in Friday's trading following news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged Grayscale's application for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) built around the token.

At 11 a.m. ET, XRP's token price was up 11.1% over 24 hours of trading. Meanwhile, Bitcoin was up 1.1%, and Ethereum was up 3.3%.

Here's what happened

The SEC published a notice on Thursday evening, acknowledging that it had received Grayscale's filing to offer an XRP ETF as a publicly tradeable security.

The acknowledgement doesn't mean that the proposed ETF will be approved by the regulatory agency; however, it does signal that the SEC will consider the application and make a determination based on its findings.

The agency has already shot down other filings to create securities built around altcoins, so the acknowledgment itself represents a beneficial development for the cryptocurrency.

What does this mean for XRP?

News that the SEC has acknowledged Grayscale's XRP ETF application could be a good sign for the cryptocurrency in another way. The agency has been pursuing legal action against Ripple Labs, alleging that the fintech company offered the XRP token it created to investors as an unregistered security.

The acknowledgement of Grayscale's ETF request could be a sign that the SEC will drop its legal challenge against Ripple Labs, which is currently in the appeals phase following a 2023 judgment.

Former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stepped down from the role when President Trump returned to the White House and has been replaced by Mark Uyeda, who is generally considered much more supportive of the cryptocurrency industry.

If Uyeda directs the agency to drop its appeals case against Ripple, it could open up another strong bullish stretch for XRP.

In other news that could be bullish for XRP, President Trump is reportedly open to having the token included as part of a U.S. digital asset reserve.

With political wins like this seemingly moving in XRP's favor, it wouldn't be surprising to see the token continue to soar to new highs in 2024.