The US Senate’s debate on a bill called the Clarity Act has renewed the discussion about XRP and other crypto products, and how they might be treated under US laws.
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Reports have revealed that the bill would give clear status to token-backed ETFs listed in the US, bringing them closer to asset-style management.
XRP spot ETFs have also attracted significant capital, with inflows reaching nearly $1.37 billion since their launch in November 2025 — a number that underscores why policymakers and market watchers are paying attention.
How It Works
Creation and redemption in ETFs can be done “in kind,” meaning the fund can accept real assets instead of cash.
Those machines are real, but they don’t allow regular consumers to load tokens directly into a wallet. Authorized participants – major traders and market makers – are the ones who offer tokens to ETFs and receive shares in return.
Everyday investors buy or sell ETF shares on exchanges. That gap is at the heart of the debate about whether an ETF can ever function as a bank.
XRP ETFs are also In-Kind Funds, so you can put XRP directly into the fund to get the exact amount of shares.
Most will choose this post rule option. There are many advantages to this, you will be able to use the ETF as a “bank”. pic.twitter.com/4fyeOkEYTC
— Chad Steingraber (@ChadSteingraber) January 13, 2026
What are the Voices of the Community
According to XRP community statistics posts, some see a future where ETFs act as regulated parking for token holders.
Chad Steingraber has been talking a lot about passive mechanics, arguing that investors can exchange XRP for the same ETF shares and treat the funds as a safe place to hold value until they need to move the tokens again.
Those comments helped fuel the idea that ETFs could be used in a banking-like way.
What Taxes Might Look Like
Reports and investor guides indicate that ETF structure has tax implications. ETFs often use asset creation and redemptions to avoid the distribution of large capital gains at the fund level, which helps make ETFs tax efficient in many cases.
But the tax consequences for token holders depend on how the transaction is conducted and the legal structure of the product.
Under current US law, transfers that change the nature of assets can create taxable events for the donor, and fund-level distributions can still generate tax liabilities for investors.
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According to Chad Steingraber, the in-kind structure gives XRP holders a controlled place to park their tokens where they want security and oversight.
Investors, Steingraber believes, may prefer ETFs if the Clarity Act clarifies the rules. The appeal is not the technical measures but the confidence of holding XRP in a regulated, regulated product. For him, ETFs provide a safe way to manage tokens while maintaining access to them when needed.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
