Fake BlackRock ETF Filing Sees Rapid XRP Pump & Dump

On Nov 14, 2023

A BlackRock filing suggesting the asset manager was attempting to launch an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) sent the token’s price surging by 12% before crashing back down to earth.

The asset manager clarified on Monday that it was not planning any attempt to launch an XRP exchange-traded fund, leading to the price dropping back.

XRP Price Surges Thanks To Fake Filing

The XRP ETF saga lasted for an hour when, late on the 13th of November, a few users on X (formerly Twitter) came across a Delaware filing that seemed to show that BlackRock had filed to register the “iShares XRP Trust.” This filing is generally the precursor to launching a full-fledged exchange-traded fund (ETF). As a result of this apparent filing, the price of the XRP token registered a significant surge, rising by 12% and spiking to $0.73 within 30 minutes of the news.

However, the entire episode was over as soon as it began, with XRP losing all its gains when the filing in question was confirmed to be a fake by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who stated he had spoken with BlackRock on the matter. According to Balchunas, someone may have listed the XRP trust on the Delaware list of corporations’ websites by impersonating BlackRock managing director Daniel Schweiger.

Dylan LeClair, a Bitcoin Magazine analyst, first broke the news. Balchunas also shared the listing details in a now-deleted post on X. BlackRock had earlier signaled its intention to expand beyond Bitcoin following its application for a spot Ether ETF on the 9th of November. With the news of the faked listing, it was clarified that the spot Ether ETF was real and was officially confirmed through a 19b-4 submission by Nasdaq to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

BlackRock Issues Clarification

BlackRock also addressed the rumors that the company had taken steps to launch an XRP ETF, with a spokesperson calling the news fake shortly after the news began doing the rounds on social media. Blackrock has previously filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to launch spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. Before these, BlackRock had filed for a Delaware entity, which acts as the corporate vehicle for the products in question.

The paperwork submitted by the alleged filing on Monday looked similar to the forms but was not filed by BlackRock. This is not the first time Delaware’s corporate registration process has been abused to pump crypto prices. In 2021, a pair of fake filings suggested Grayscale was planning to launch trust vehicles for two tokens other than Bitcoin. As it turned out, Grayscale had no such plans.

While the fake filing generated considerable hype around XRP, many experienced crypto watchers expressed doubt from the get-go. BlackRock is not regarded as a risk taker in the crypto market and would not create an ETF product for XRP, especially when it is the subject of active litigation from the SEC.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.