The idea of the US government that holds XRP as part of a national reserve may sound far-fetched but it is a conversation that actually gets a grip in parts of the financial and crypto world.
The concept received a grip earlier this year after a private meeting in which Ripple managers were involved, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse. At the time, speculation rose, in which some viewers in the industry estimate a 50% chance that XRP could be added to a Federal Reserve strategy. That opportunity has since fallen to around 22%, but the conversation remains active.
Connor McLaughlin, an asset manager and commentator of digital assets, RShared his perspective on the idea of the Paul Barron network. Although he believes that a national XRP reserve can be favorable, he warned that the impact would depend on the reasoning behind it.
“If it’s just an investment allocation, that’s one thing,” said McLaughlin. “But a partnership at a higher level between Ripple and the US government, driven by real cases for liquidity use-that is where the value really lies.”
He added that although Bitcoin has already started finding his place in institutional portfolios, which extends the federal interest to other crypto assets such as XRP is mixed with mixed reactions.
“It seemed that there was a momentum,” he added, “but internal disagreements may have made serious efforts. It is unclear whether the government simply paused to prevent controversy, or whether the idea was completely abandoned.”
McLaughlin said that, regardless of the current hesitation of the government, trends can ultimately force a reconsideration in the long term.
“Over time, these technologies will prove themselves. If the US is missing the boat now, we could see a repeat of what happened to Bitcoin – early and then reluctantly accepted.”
Some have driven creative ideas for how the government could collect XRP. One theory includes the American treasury that is diverting fines of fines with regard to Ripple’s current legal procedures to XRP holdings for a strategic reserve. According to McLaughlin, although plausible, would be a more mandatory future that is used in the underlying infrastructure of the financial system, not just kept passive.
“The real excitement comes when Tier-One Banks start to use XRP for real-time scheme and financial sanitary,” he said. “That is what the needle would really move for the ecosystem.”
