A BlackRock filing suggesting the asset manager was creating an XRP (XRP) exchange-traded product caused a 12% spike in XRP, which it quickly lost after the filing was confirmed as fake.
The saga lasted for about an hour on late Nov. 13 as X (Twitter) users picked up on a Delaware filing showing BlackRock filed to register the “iShares XRP Trust” — a precursor to launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
XRP gained 12%, spiking to $0.73 within 30 minutes of the news of the filing. However, it lost all its gains in half an hour after it was confirmed a fake by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who spoke with BlackRock.
Balchunas speculated someone listed the XRP trust on the Delaware list of corporations website by impersonating BlackRock managing director Daniel Schwieger.
This is false! Confirmed by BlackRock by me. Some whacko must have added using BlackRock executive name etc. Cmon man. pic.twitter.com/cDpnycYwjQ
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 13, 2023
Bitcoin Magazine analyst Dylan LeClair was one of the first to initially break the news. Balchunas and The Block also shared the listing on X in now-deleted posts.
Related: Ripple faces slim odds of $770M disgorgement — XRP holders attorney
BlackRock signaled its intention to expand beyond Bitcoin with its ETF aspirations after the firm filed for a spot Ether ETF on Nov. 9.
In light of the faked listing, Seyffart iterated that the spot Ether ETF is real as it was officially confirmed via a 19b-4 submission by Nasdaq to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lot of people now asking if the Ethereum trust filing was real after seeing the XRP trust was fake.
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 13, 2023
YES. The ishares #Ethereum trust filing is real and was confirmed via 19b-4 filing on Thursday. Only the XRP trust filing was fake. https://t.co/Lqhj8p91NO
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