The price of XRP surged overnight on expectations that the world’s first spot exchange-traded fund tracking the cryptocurrency could soon begin trading in Brazil. The token is up more than 5% over the past 24 hours at $2.

Analyst Armando Pantoja predicts an 81% chance of XRP ETF approval within the next year, arguing that it would not only drive institutional demand but also validate that XRP is not an illegal security.

Brazil becomes the first country to approve an XRP ETF application as the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) gives the “go-ahead” to full operation.

The SEC is reviewing ETF applications and proposed rule changes at various exchanges for alternatives to bitcoin and Ether. Approval for some may be likely, but whether investors want the options is a question.

XRP gained 4.5% in early U.S. trading on Thursday after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acknowledged multiple spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings. At the same time, asset manager Hashdex received regulatory approval from Brazil’s Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) – the country’s SEC-equivalent authority – to launch what could become the world's first spot XRP ETF,