Ripple’s Pivot: Is XRP Treasury Dominance the New Endgame? Bitwise CEO Raises Eyebrows

Ripple's growing XRP stockpile sparks speculation—is the payments giant morphing into a de facto crypto treasury? Bitwise's CEO drops the question everyone's tip-toeing around.

XRP's corporate custody conundrum

With Ripple sitting on billions in escrowed XRP, critics whisper about centralization risks while bulls argue it's just smart capital management. The line between 'strategic reserve' and 'shadow treasury' gets blurrier by the quarter.

Finance veterans smirk—when your 'decentralized' asset's fate hinges on one company's balance sheet, maybe rebrand as Ripple Municipal Bonds? The crypto markets' theater never disappoints.

Ripple is making headlines again. The company has officially teamed up with BNY Mellon, the world’s largest custodian bank, to safeguard the reserves for its stablecoin RLUSD. The stablecoin has already crossed $500 million in circulation, and this MOVE marks a big milestone for Ripple’s growing payments and stablecoin business.

The news didn’t go unnoticed. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stirred conversation online, wondering aloud if Ripple might soon be seen as an “XRP treasury company.” His post got a mixed response and while some called it a big bet on Ripple’s future, others thought it felt a bit overhyped.

I wonder if in 12 months, people will call Ripple an XRP treasury company.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Horsley spoke about why he thinks 2025 will be a major turning point for crypto. For years, uncertainty around crypto regulations in the U.S. has made investors hesitate. But according to Horsley, that’s finally changing. He said lawmakers, regulators, and even the White House are starting to take a more open, constructive approach toward digital assets.

He compared the crypto market’s moment to when the iPhone first arrived, met with skepticism, but eventually became a standard tool in every workplace. Horsley said that the market will soon see Bitcoin, XRP, and other digital assets making their way into mainstream businesses and services, not just crypto exchanges.

However, previously, Horsley had shared a different view about the U.S. crypto reserve plan announced by President Trump in March. While the reserve is expected to include top cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano along with Bitcoin, Horsley believed Bitcoin alone should have been the focus.

In short, between Ripple’s new partnership and growing support from regulators, it feels like crypto might finally be heading toward the mainstream spotlight.