Franklin Templeton raises XRP ETF holdings to 293 million tokens, faces $61.7 million unrealized loss

Franklin Templeton, a major US-based asset manager, significantly increased its exposure to XRP in the third quarter of 2026. According to a November SEC filing, the Franklin XRP ETF (trading as XRPZ on the NYSE Arca) held 293,112,265 XRP tokens as of September 30, with a reported value of $439.67 million. This marks a notable expansion in the firm’s digital asset strategy, even as the wider cryptocurrency market continues to experience volatility.

XRP purchases and fund activity

Franklin Templeton boosted its XRP holdings during the quarter, up from 225.37 million tokens on July 1 to more than 293 million by the end of September. This represents an increase of roughly 30.1% in its XRP allocation over three months. The asset manager acquired 26.6 million XRP through share creations and received an additional 41.25 million tokens via in-kind contributions. To address operational expenses, about 108,834 XRP were sold during this period.

The company made no sales of XRP tied to shareholder redemptions in the quarter, and no in-kind distributions related to redemptions were recorded. Franklin’s outstanding ETF share count climbed as well, rising from 14.7 million at the end of March to 27 million by September 30.

Performance, cost basis and valuation gap

Despite the increase in accumulated XRP, the ETF’s cost basis for its holdings—totaling $501.43 million—exceeded their reported fair value of $439.67 million at September’s close. This created an unrealized gap of approximately $61.76 million, accounting for 12.3% of the total cost basis.

This difference does not represent a loss already realized, as the fund has not liquidated its XRP position. Instead, it reflects the difference between the purchase price and current valuation. During the third quarter, the ETF recorded $112.73 million in unrealized appreciation, underscoring gains achieved within the period as prices improved, even though overall valuations remained below cumulative acquisition cost.

Despite reporting $112.73 million in unrealized appreciation during the third quarter, the gap between the fund’s cost basis and the fair value at quarter-end stood at $61.76 million, reflecting ongoing market volatility and past acquisition prices.

As of September 30, Franklin’s net asset value was $439.61 million, which translated to $16.28 for each ETF share. The reported data does not include the most recent outflow trends or the notable price slump in XRP that occurred after the quarter ended.

Custody, administration and fee structure

The Franklin XRP ETF safeguards its tokens with Coinbase Custody Trust Company. The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) provides administrative, transfer agent, and cash custody services to the fund. The annual sponsor fee for the ETF is set at 0.19%.

This growing institutional position highlights Franklin Templeton’s evolving involvement in digital asset markets. However, owning ETF shares does not always signal an unhedged bullish stance toward the underlying cryptocurrency.

Key September valuations may not reflect the current state of the market, as the reporting period ended before recent developments impacted XRP’s price and investor sentiment.

Mini dictionary: Franklin Templeton is a leading global investment firm managing mutual funds, ETFs, and alternative investments for institutions and individual investors. The company has increasingly incorporated cryptocurrency-related funds as part of its broader investment offerings.