March 11 (Reuters) - Franklin Templeton BEN.N is planning to launch an exchange-traded fund that will track the spot price of cryptocurrency XRP, underscoring the increasing appetite of asset managers for digital assets beyond bitcoin.
Franklin's filing on Tuesday is the latest in a series of spot cryptocurrency ETF filings by asset managers, who expect a more receptive approach from the Securities and Exchange Commission during the administration led by President Donald Trump.
Last month, Franklin Templeton also filed for an ETF that will track the spot price of Solana. Earlier in January, Grayscale Investments launched a fund tied to Dogecoin.
XRP XRP=, the world's fourth-largest cryptocurrency created by U.S. crypto firm Ripple, has a market capitalization of about $124 billion, according to CoinGecko data.
XRP is also among a string of cryptocurrencies that Trump wants to be part of a new strategic reserve. The digital asset has more than tripled in the past 12 months.
Franklin's ETF, tracking XRP, is set for listing on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The company has appointed Coinbase COIN.O as the custodian for the fund's XRP holdings.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))
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