GraniteShares has pushed back the debut of its highly anticipated 3x leveraged XRP ETFs again — this time from April 23 to May 7 — marking the fifth launch postponement in roughly three weeks and reigniting questions about whether the SEC will greenlight triple-levered crypto funds.
What happened
- A Rule 485 filing under the Securities Act of 1933 filed with regulators shows GraniteShares moved the effective launch date for its 3x Long and 3x Short XRP Daily ETFs to May 7. The launch date has been changed five times in succession: April 2 → April 9 → April 16 → April 23 → May 7. Rule 485 allows issuers to shift dates without restarting the full regulatory review process.
- All eight of GraniteShares’ leveraged funds — 3x Long and 3x Short versions for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP — were moved to May 7 simultaneously, a pattern observers say points to SEC concerns about the 3x structure itself rather than an asset-specific issue.
Why this matters
- The delays echo the regulatory resistance that snagged ProShares in December 2025. The SEC cited Rule 18f-4 — which effectively limits fund leverage to 200% — in letters to ProShares, Direxion and Tidal Financial. That prompted ProShares to withdraw its entire 3x crypto lineup, including a 3x XRP fund similar to GraniteShares’ proposal.
- GraniteShares’ planned 3x Long XRP Daily ETF would aim to deliver 300% of XRP’s daily price moves using swaps and futures, settle in cash, and hold no direct XRP. The 3x Short would target −300% of daily returns, offering US retail traders a regulated avenue to short XRP at triple leverage via standard brokerages if approved.
- GraniteShares Advisors LLC would act as investment adviser; Jeff Klearman and Ryan Dofflemeyer are listed as portfolio managers.
Market context and risk signals
- Spot XRP ETFs have attracted solid investor demand: cumulative inflows since November 2025 top $1.24 billion, and XRP ETF flows hit an 11-week high in mid-April with $17.11 million on one day — signals GraniteShares is trying to extend into higher-leverage demand.
- But XRP is also highly volatile. Annualized historical volatility from 2020–2025 for XRP was 95.5%, the highest among the four assets in GraniteShares’ filing — a metric that likely feeds into the SEC’s risk assessment for a 3x product.
- By contrast, Teucrium showed 2x leveraged XRP products can pass regulatory muster: it launched a 2x Long Daily XRP ETF on NYSE Arca in April 2025 and has accumulated over $440 million in assets since.
What happens next
- If GraniteShares sticks with the May 7 launch, the series of date changes may be read as routine procedural adjustments similar to how other issuers have navigated timing under Rule 485. But a sixth delay would increase the odds that the SEC is moving toward the same outcome it reached with ProShares — effectively blocking 3x crypto ETFs in 2026.
- GraniteShares has not issued a public statement explaining the postponements, and the Rule 485 filing does not disclose any specific SEC concerns.
Bottom line
GraniteShares’ repeated postponements highlight the unresolved tension between investor demand for higher-leverage crypto products and the SEC’s regulatory guardrails on leverage and risk. The May 7 date will be watched closely: it could be a routine scheduling move — or the last chance for a 3x XRP ETF this year.
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