Investors were piled up in the US’s first Dogecoin and XRP Exchange-Traded funds on their debut trading day, breaking analysts’ trading volume expectations.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Bulknas said on X that most new ETFs will see trading volumes of around $1 million, but the new crypto fund is “no slouching” and saw trading $54.7 million a day.
Asset issuers Rex Stock and Osprey Funds launched an ETF on Thursday, tracking the prices of its third largest cryptocurrency, XRP (XRP), eighth largest cryptocurrency and the largest memocoin, DogeCoin (Doge).
Balchunas added that the volume is a “good sign of an onslaught” for crypto-related ETFs awaiting regulatory approval for the launch. The issuer submitted dozens of cryptographic ETFs tied to new instruments such as speculative altcoins or staking.
XRP ETF trades nearly $40 million
According to data from Balchunas and Cboe, the Rex-Soprey XRP ETF (XRPR), which tracks XRP, saw a volume of $37.7 million.
Balchunas said there was a “biggest first day” in terms of money volume “of the 2025 launch.”
XRPR was a fast acquirer from the gate as Balchunas had previously noted that ETF had previously won a $24 million volume within the first hour and a half on the market.
“That’s way more than I thought,” he said. “In the context, it was five times more than any of the XRP futures that the ETF made on the first day, only 90 minutes.”
DogeCoin ETF works well too
Earlier on Thursday, Bulknath said he expected Rex-Splai Doge ETF (DOJE), which tracks dogcoins, to see a $2.5 million volume the day.
He later stated that his expectations were “destroyed in the first hour of the transaction” as the ETF approached a $6 million volume.
“It’s surprisingly solid,” he said. “Most ETFs trade for less than $1 million on the first day.”
Doje closed on Thursday with a $17 million volume trading. It added that it added five of the top five out of over 700 ETF launches this year.
ETF type did not discourage investors
Rex and Osprey filed two ETFs under securities laws that differ from the laws in which most existing encrypted exchange trading products were launched.
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XRPR and Doje are registered under the Investment Companies Act of 1940, the so-called “40 Act,” but the popular Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) funds launched last year were under the Securities Act of 1933, or the “33 Act.”
Balchunas said early Thursday that both ETFs were registered under the 40 Act, “it could potentially reduce interest slightly compared to other Crypto First Evers.”
The 40 laws offer a faster approval window of 75 days compared to 240 days under 33 laws, but with certain restrictions on what ETFs can hold.
Rather than keeping the crypto directly, XRPR and Doje will instead invest in a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary. They also purchase shares in forex trading products based in Europe and Canada, and are trying to track XRP and Doge to track the price of their assets.
Many pending crypto funds, including XRP and DogeCoin, are awaiting approval, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can speed up the process, approved ETF listing standards on Wednesday.
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