Delaware Authorities Investigate Fake BlackRock Filing After Surge in XRP Price

In an unusual turn of events, a fraudulent filing submitted to the State of Delaware's Division of Corporations on November 13 has triggered an investigation by state authorities.

According to a statement from the Delaware Department of State on November 14, the fake filing, which falsely claimed that asset manager BlackRock had registered an "iShares XRP Trust," will be referred to the Delaware Department of Justice.

The deceptive registration, appearing as a listing on the state's Division of Corporations on November 13, briefly led to a surge of approximately 12% in the price of XRP. However, once the misinformation was uncovered, the gains were swiftly lost.

The Delaware Department of Justice has not disclosed the specific actions it may take in response to the referral.

The fraudulent listing used the name of BlackRock managing director Daniel Schwieger, raising concerns about potential fraud, especially if XRP transactions were involved.

The fabricated XRP trust filing fueled speculation that BlackRock might be gearing up to launch an XRP-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, a development of significant importance in the crypto space.

While BlackRock did register an Ether trust in Delaware on November 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved the listing of any spot crypto ETF as of now.