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Jane Street boosts Bitwise XRP spot ETF stake to over 1.2 million shares

Reported by Digitaltoday
Aug 18, 2026· 3 min read
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Key Takeaways
  • • Jane Street has accumulated over 1.2 million shares of the Bitwise XRP spot ETF, positioning itself as the largest institutional holder disclosed in SEC filings, signaling significant Wall Street appetite for XRP exposure through the new fund vehicle.
  • • The Bitwise XRP ETF launched on NYSE on November 20, 2025, under ticker XRP with a 0.34% management fee (waived for the first month on the first $500 million in assets), establishing institutional-grade access to spot XRP holdings.
  • • Competing XRP ETF products have generated substantial inflows, with rival offerings pulling in $293 million in capital, indicating broad institutional demand for cryptocurrency exposure in regulated fund structures.
  • • The fund holds spot XRP, a digital asset with a $125 billion+ market capitalization and 13-year operational track record, positioned as infrastructure for cross-border payments in a $250 trillion addressable market.
  • • The Bitwise XRP ETF posted a -43% net asset value return for H1 2026 as underlying XRP declined, reflecting the volatility inherent in crypto asset exposure despite institutional adoption through traditional fund vehicles.
Summary
Jane Street Group, the U.S.-based quantitative trading firm, has disclosed a significant stake in the Bitwise XRP ETF, accumulating over 1.2 million shares according to SEC filings. This position establishes Jane Street as a leading institutional holder of the fund, joining other major financial firms including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley in building exposure to XRP through the regulated spot ETF vehicle. The scale of Jane Street's position underscores institutional appetite for cryptocurrency exposure when packaged in traditional fund structures with regulatory oversight.

The Bitwise XRP ETF commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 20, 2025, under the ticker XRP. Bitwise Asset Management, which oversees more than $15 billion in client assets, structured the fund with a 0.34% annual management fee and offered a one-month fee waiver on the first $500 million in assets to encourage initial adoption. The fund provides direct exposure to spot XRP holdings, with XRP positioned as the world's third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at over $125 billion.

The XRP Ledger, the underlying blockchain infrastructure, has demonstrated substantial operational capability with over 4 billion lifetime transactions, average daily volume of $1.9 billion, and settlement finality in 3–5 seconds. Bitwise's thesis centers on XRP's 13-year operational track record, low-cost transaction processing, and potential role in disrupting the cross-border payments market, projected to reach $250 trillion by 2027. The fund's marketing positioned XRP on an equal regulatory footing with other digital assets under the evolving U.S. crypto regulatory framework.

Competing XRP ETF products generated $293 million in inflows during the launch period, demonstrating substantial institutional and retail demand for spot cryptocurrency exposure through regulated vehicles. However, the Bitwise XRP ETF reported a -43% net asset value return for the first half of 2026, reflecting significant underlying XRP price depreciation despite the broader institutional adoption of cryptocurrency ETFs. The performance decline underscores the volatility inherent in digital asset investments, even when accessed through professionally managed fund structures with institutional compliance frameworks.

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Sources

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Digitaltoday Jane Street boosts Bitwise XRP spot ETF stake to over 1.2 million shares