In an interview on Bloomberg Crypto with anchors Tim Stenovec and Katie Greifeld, Teucrium Trading’s chief executive officer (CEO) Sal Gilbertie argued that XRP is the crypto asset with “the most utility” in the entire space.
“Ripple’s a company of really professional people working really hard on this. That’s why we chose XRP. We believe in XRP. We’re not making a price prediction, but we do believe it’s a coin that will have the most utility out there. You know Bitcoin is a store of value […] but I think that XRP has a true use case,” Gilbertie remarked.
He further highlighted the professionality of the Ripple team which is a big reason the company believes in the crypto asset: “There’s just no doubt about it in the Ripple team from what the interaction we’ve had with them […] They act like investment bankers over there. They know what they’re doing and they will make this work.”
Teucrium’s 2x Long XRP ETF
Teucrium launched the first XRP-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States on April 8. The Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, traded under the ticker XXRP on NYSE Arca, is a 2x leveraged fund aiming to provide twice the daily return of the token.
The ETF’s launch coincided with a sharp rebound in the underlying token. While Teucrium cannot see its shareholder register in real time, Gilbertie believes early flows reflect “a mix of professionals and retail trading their own accounts.” XXRP is engineered explicitly for intraday traders, he emphasized: “This specific product is geared toward traders who have a short-term view—primarily a one-day view—of what XRP’s price moves might be. This allows them in a traditional brokerage account to achieve leverage without a margin account.”
Gilbertie acknowledged that such magnified exposure is unsuitable for naïve investors. “Of course it’s risky. Leveraged funds are always risky and people need to be very careful,” he cautioned, adding: “I hope that the non-sophisticated traders do their homework first before they set foot in this.”
The conversation also illuminated a shifting regulatory atmosphere in Washington. Gilbertie contrasted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s current leadership with its prior stance under former Chair Gary Gensler, without naming him directly but characterizing the previous regime as “a blocker” to digital-asset innovation.
“The old SEC regime was a blocker…worked against the crypto industry,” he said. By contrast, the gap between administrations—during which newly confirmed Chair Paul Atkins and the fresh slate of commissioners were still settling in—created a moment when Teucrium’s application could proceed. “We applied as soon as we could, meaning the old regime had left and wouldn’t block us, and we simply listed as soon as we could following the normal rules. The staff is really wonderful at the SEC…It’s the leadership that matters.”
XXRP’s methodology relies on daily rebalancing of swap positions to deliver twice the token’s move—up or down—over a single trading session. Compounding makes the fund unsuitable as a long-term proxy, an intrinsic feature common to all daily leveraged products but one the firm has gone to pains to highlight in its prospectus. Gilbertie underscored that message: “Volatility is the point. You want the action,” but traders must understand that the action cuts both ways.
For now, Gilbertie is betting that the community’s zeal, combined with a friendlier SEC stance, will keep volume humming. “We thought the time was right,” he concluded, “and so far the market seems to agree.”
At press time, XRP traded at $2.24.
