No Gold Backing? No Problem: Here’s Why XRP Doesn’t Need It to Dominate—Analyst Breakdown

Forget the shiny stuff—XRP's value proposition cuts through traditional asset-backed hype like a hot knife.

The Naked Truth: Unlike stablecoins chained to bullion reserves, Ripple's flagship token thrives on pure utility. Banks aren't swapping SWIFT confirmations for gold certificates—they want speed.

Liquidity > Precious Metals: With 2025's cross-border payment volume hitting $250B daily (thanks, CBDC chaos), XRP's 3-second settlements mock gold's sluggish physical transfers. Even central bankers can't ignore those metrics.

Regulatory Armor: Post-SEC battle scars? More like battle-hardened compliance credentials. Meanwhile, 'backed by gold' projects keep getting rug-pulled by... *checks notes* actual gold dealers.

Bottom line: In a world where Bitcoin maximalists hoard digital rocks and TradFi clings to medieval metal, XRP's frictionless pipelines are the real alchemy. (But sure, keep stacking those ETFs—we'll be over here settling $10M transactions before your vault door finishes creaking open.)

How XRP Bridges Gold Token

According to Aljarrah, XRP only needs to power the on-chain movement of gold-pegged coins. Based on reports, each gold token on the XRPL would represent one gram of real gold. Custodians such as MKS Pamp and Imperial Vaults would hold the physical bars.

XRP would then step in to provide liquidity and settle trades on the ledger’s built-in exchange. Aljarrah sees this setup as a way for the altcoin to stay useful in global finance.

$XRP doesn’t need to be backed by gold. It just needs to MOVE it.

When gold-pegged stablecoins live on $XRPL, XRP bridges them.

And in doing so, it becomes synthetically linked to gold, oil, and every asset they tokenize. pic.twitter.com/q0Ti2pQuDp

— Versan | Black Swan Capitalist (@VersanAljarrah) July 27, 2025

Meld Gold Leads The Charge

Meld Gold is the only issuer currently close to launching a gold token on the XRPL. Reports have disclosed that Meld plans to back each token with one gram of physical gold. The firm says it will work with major vault operators.

So far, no other gold token projects, including PAX Gold (PAXG), have moved onto XRP’s network. Supporters hope that more issuers will follow once Meld proves the concept.

Reports note that issuing gold tokens is more than writing code. Each issuer must tie its token to audits, legal contracts and insured vaults. On top of that, XRP’s fixed supply and decentralized consensus system make direct asset backing tricky.

Matt Hamilton, a former Ripple developer, has said the crypto asset can’t be backed by gold in a traditional way. Analysts add that its price moves with adoption, legal clarity and market mood, not by hype.

Meanwhile, Aljarrah says big names like JPMorgan, BlackRock, the Bank for International Settlements and the IMF have made private plans to use XRP as a bridge. Yet no public evidence supports that claim.

Most large asset managers have focused on blockchains with clear rules. Until the Ripple-SEC lawsuit ends, top institutions are likely to hold back. That case could decide if XRP is treated like a security, and that will affect any tokenized assets on the XRPL.

According to analysis, a bridge role alone won’t peg XRP’s price to the spot gold rate of $2,950 that some in the community mention. Instead, if gold-pegged tokens take off, the altcoin could see more trading volume and tighter spreads.

That might nudge its price upward, but it would still trade on its own merits as a liquidity tool for cross-border payments.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView