Українська
Русский
English
XRP’s Functionality Goes Beyond Payments as XRPL Looks to Tokenise Stocks, Funds and Loans
Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz said $XRP’s use case is expanding as the $XRP Ledger supports issued assets, tokenised real-world assets and a growing range of financial products such as securities, funds, repo transactions and loans.
Key Takeaways:
- $XRP Ledger is moving beyond payments and beginning to support tokenised assets and financial products.
- Tokenised securities, funds, repos and loans could expand the practical utility of $XRP Ledger.
- Schwartz said the growing asset ecosystem on $XRP Ledger could strengthen its role in financial markets.
“$XRP in a Minute” Shows How XRPL Is Moving Beyond Basic Transfers
On June 5, Ripple released a new episode of “$XRP in a Minute”, in which David Schwartz explains how the use case of $XRP is expanding. Schwartz is Ripple’s CTO Emeritus and one of the original architects of the $XRP Ledger (XRPL). The segment begins with the question: “How is the utility of $XRP expanding?” His answer focuses on tokenised assets, enterprise adoption and financial services built on XRPL.
“Bitcoin started it all by providing a public blockchain network that allowed people to hold and transfer Bitcoin,” Schwartz explained. He emphasised that this breakthrough showed people they could own digital assets and move them on open infrastructure. The $XRP Ledger then expanded this model by supporting both native digital assets and issued assets.
Schwartz said:
“Shortly after that came the $XRP Ledger, providing both native digital assets similar to Bitcoin and issued assets that can represent things like stablecoins or tokenised assets of any kind.”
This distinction lies at the centre of Schwartz’s utility argument. The $XRP Ledger is not limited to sending $XRP between users. It can also support assets representing dollars, funds, securities, stocks or other forms of value. This gives XRPL a broader financial role, as it can combine asset issuance, transfer and settlement in one network.
Tokenised Assets Could Push $XRP’s Practical Relevance Into Financial Markets
Schwartz continued: “Today, enterprises are using the $XRP Ledger to provide tokenised real-world assets [RWAs], and in the near future they will offer everything from tokenised securities to money market funds and even instruments like tokenised stocks.” This statement moves the discussion beyond payments. Tokenised assets could bring familiar financial products onto the blockchain, where they may become easier to issue, transfer and settle.
The next stage would take the $XRP Ledger further into credit markets. “And soon,” Schwartz noted, “we will see features such as tokenised repos and tokenised loans.” Repos are short-term financing instruments used in traditional markets. Tokenised loans would expand XRPL’s role to include borrowing, collateral and repayment. Together, these products point to utility built around financial infrastructure, not just speculation.
Ripple’s CTO Emeritus said:
“Enterprises will provide the features that attract mass retail adoption, where DeFi can truly fulfil its promise of replacing TradFi and providing the financial services that everyone needs.”
His view places enterprises at the centre of retail adoption. Consumers may not adopt decentralised finance (DeFi) because of blockchain terminology. They may adopt it when tokenised funds, loans, repos and stocks feel simple, liquid, compliant and useful. In Schwartz’s view, $XRP’s utility expands when XRPL supports recognisable financial services that people and institutions already understand.
The same utility theme has also appeared beyond Ripple’s own messaging. Anodos Finance CEO Panos Mekras recently said his company has been buying, holding and paying its team with $XRP since 2023. This example directly connects to Schwartz’s point about practical financial use. It shows how companies can treat $XRP as working liquidity for treasury activity, payments and operations, rather than only as a traded asset.
Schwartz’s comments also reflect $XRP’s longer history after 14 years on the market. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called it “the honour of a lifetime” to be part of the $XRP family, while Schwartz described $XRP’s origins as an attempt to create a better way to move value. More recently, discussions have focused on tokenisation, treasury management, settlement and financial products on blockchain. Garlinghouse has also highlighted $XRP’s speed, low transaction costs, scalability and long operating history — traits that could support the tokenised assets, loans, funds and settlement products described by Schwartz.
See also: "Investors Pull $1.72 Billion From Spot Bitcoin ETFs in a Week — Second-Worst Result in History"
