Delaware State DOJ Might Investigate the BlackRock Hoax XRP ETF Filing

Delaware authorities have referred the false Blackrock Ripple (XRP) exchange-traded fund (ETF) case to the State’s Department of Justice (DOJ).

A fake XRP ETF was submitted Monday under the name of a BlackRock managing director, appearing on the corporation’s website. Dubbed “BlackRock iShares XRP Trust,” the filing triggered a 12% rally in the token, before knowing that it was fake.

BlackRock iShares XRP Trust is still listed on the Delaware Corporation website.

1700039486-blackrock-filing-e1700039618990-1 — BlackRock iShares XRP Trust is still listed on the Delaware Corporation website.

The filing closely resembled last week’s legitimate paperwork from BlackRock regarding its iShares Ethereum Trust product. Interestingly, the fake XRP trust filing was registered with the same address and contact information as BlackRock’s real ETF filing.

Following the chaos, Blackrock’s spokesperson confirmed that the fund is bogus and the company was not attempting to launch one.

Per a Tuesday report by Bloomberg, the matters have been taken to Delaware’s DOJ to investigate the fake filing.

Delaware Department of State director of policy and communications, Rony Baltazar-Lopez, noted, “We have referred this matter to the Department of Justice.”

The XRP price quickly racked back to $0.65 from $0.71, soon after the filing was revealed to be a hoax.

Asset management giant Blackrock has previously filed spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Speculators Don’t Believe it to Be Fake

Although Backrock’s spokesperson confirmed few publications personally that the XRP ETF filing was fake, an XRP user commented that it hasn’t been publicly stated.

And no one from Blackrock has come out and said it’s false https://t.co/4TplmTFIgz

— XRP Since Birth Kindergarten Crypto Kid (@SinceXrp) November 14, 2023

Also, the filing still appears on the Delaware’s Department of Corporations website and hasn’t been removed as of Wednesday.

Another user wrote on X (Twitter) that it would be real if authorities don’t find the culprit behind the filing.

“If they don’t find the culprit who created the fake BlackRock XRP ETF news then that means it most likely was real but they pulled back on it.”

If they don’t find the culprit who created the fake BlackRock $XRP ETF news then that means it most likely was real but they pulled back on it 🤣

— XRPcryptowolf (@XRPcryptowolf) November 14, 2023

However, this is not the first time a fake filing has been listed on Delaware’s corporate registration. In 2021, a pair of bogus filings noted that asset manager Grayscale would launch trust vehicles for two tokens. But the company did not have such plans at the time.