Jake Claver, chairman of Digital Ascension Group, has reignited debate around XRP’s long‑term prospects by suggesting that BlackRock could eventually roll out an exchange-traded fund backed by the token. His view is that mounting institutional interest in the XRP Ledger (XRPL), coupled with Ripple’s rapid expansion into payments and artificial intelligence, is laying the groundwork for exactly that kind of product.
Claver argued in a recent interview that the adoption curve for XRPL is still in its early stages, especially among banks, asset managers, and regulated fintech platforms experimenting with blockchain-based settlement. As more of these institutions test and deploy XRPL for cross-border transfers and on-chain financial infrastructure, he believes XRP’s role as a core settlement asset will grow accordingly.
According to Claver, a stronger, more visible use of the XRPL in production environments could justify both higher valuations for XRP and a broader suite of institutional products tied to the asset. In his view, an XRP ETF from a heavyweight such as BlackRock is “on the horizon” rather than a remote possibility. He suggested that a dedicated exchange-traded vehicle would not only provide new access routes for traditional investors, but also reinforce XRP’s status as a key liquidity instrument for institutional payments.
Claver’s comments arrive at a time when BlackRock itself is in expansion mode in digital assets. The firm is preparing to list its iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) on Nasdaq, with trading scheduled to begin on June 16 following regulatory approval in the United States. The fund uses a covered-call strategy tied to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, with the goal of delivering annualized yields in the 15%-25% range. For many observers, that move underscores BlackRock’s willingness to keep broadening its crypto ETF lineup beyond plain vanilla spot market exposure.
Against that backdrop, Claver contends that XRP naturally fits into the next wave of institutional crypto offerings. He emphasized that if BlackRock continues down the path of creating income-focused and diversified digital-asset products, the leap from Bitcoin-only exposure to a basket including assets like XRP is not far-fetched-especially if XRP proves itself as a high-throughput, low-cost backbone for regulated settlement.
However, Claver also linked any prospective XRP ETF to specific market conditions. He suggested that XRP may have to reach “a significantly higher price” and demonstrate deeper liquidity before it can fully support large-scale settlement use cases and justify an ETF filing from a firm as conservative and data-driven as BlackRock. In this sense, institutional adoption of XRPL and XRP’s market dynamics are tightly intertwined.
Interest in the XRP Ledger among traditional finance has been quietly but steadily building. Earlier this year, XRPL Commons director Odelia Torteman noted that several of the world’s largest financial institutions were actively exploring XRPL. Names frequently mentioned in this context include BlackRock, Mastercard, and Franklin Templeton, all reportedly drawn by the ledger’s ability to handle cross-asset payments and its architecture for regulated institutional participation.
Torteman highlighted that these firms are not just looking at XRP as a token, but at the broader toolkit surrounding XRPL. This includes its built-in decentralized exchange (DEX), automated market maker (AMM) functionality, and infrastructure for issuing tokenized assets. For institutions, these components offer a path to building compliant, programmable financial products directly on-chain, while still benefiting from a mature, battle‑tested network.
Ripple’s own enterprise partnerships have further reinforced XRPL’s positioning in global payments and tokenized finance. One notable initiative involves tokenized lending in collaboration with Franklin Templeton and DBS, using Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as a key settlement asset. Around the same time, on-chain mechanisms were introduced to enable conversions between tokenized fund shares-such as those of BlackRock’s BUIDL product-and RLUSD, tightening the link between traditional assets and blockchain-native liquidity.
The reach of XRPL is also extending into new geographic and currency corridors. Ripple recently deepened its collaboration with Latin American fintech firm Bitso by enabling the Mexican peso-backed stablecoin MXNB on the XRP Ledger. MXNB is being integrated into Ripple’s Payments on Decentralized Exchange framework, effectively adding another regulated, fiat-linked token to the cross-border payments stack that runs over XRPL. For corporates and fintechs, this means more flexibility in how they source and settle liquidity between local currencies and on-chain assets.
Beyond payments, Ripple is pushing aggressively into the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence. The company unveiled an AI Starter Kit designed to help developers create agent-based payment applications on XRPL. These “agents” can autonomously initiate, route, and optimize transactions, opening the door to use cases like automated treasury operations, smart invoice settlement, and machine-to-machine micropayments.
In parallel, Ripple announced support for the X402 protocol, which enables AI agents to transact using XRP and RLUSD. By giving AI systems a native way to send and receive value directly on XRPL, Ripple is positioning the ledger as a foundational layer for a future in which algorithmic agents handle everything from liquidity provisioning to cross-border remittances with minimal human intervention.
Taken together, these developments form the basis for Claver’s conviction that institutional usage of XRPL is far from peaking. In his view, as more real-world assets are tokenized on the ledger, as more stablecoins and bank-grade instruments go live, and as AI-native payment flows emerge, demand for XRP as a bridge asset and liquidity tool is likely to deepen. That, he suggests, is precisely the kind of structural demand that long-term ETF providers look for.
The prospect of a BlackRock XRP ETF also raises strategic questions for both Ripple and institutional investors. For Ripple, continued clarity around regulation, particularly in major markets like the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia, will be essential. Any ETF issuer would want assurance that XRP is treated consistently across jurisdictions and that its role as a cross-border utility token does not trigger unexpected legal or compliance hurdles.
For institutional investors, an XRP ETF could serve multiple functions. It would offer price exposure without the operational overhead of self-custody, key management, or on-chain transaction management. It could also act as a hedge or complement to Bitcoin and Ethereum positions, especially for firms specifically interested in payment and settlement use cases rather than solely in store-of-value or smart contract narratives.
Another factor favoring the ETF thesis is the evolution of XRPL’s on-chain liquidity infrastructure. As its native DEX and AMM features mature, they may help provide tighter spreads and more robust markets for XRP pairs, crucial for any institution that relies on large, low-slippage trades. Improved liquidity mechanisms on-chain could, in turn, make market-making for an ETF more efficient, lowering costs for issuers and investors.
Yet, significant challenges remain. Regulatory agencies continue to scrutinize digital assets, and not all tokens will be viewed through the same lens as Bitcoin. ETF issuers like BlackRock must weigh not just market demand, but also compliance burdens, counterparty risk, and the stability of the underlying network. Any sign of protocol-level instability or governance uncertainty on XRPL could delay or derail the path toward a listed product.
Market structure is another critical piece. For an XRP ETF to be viable, exchanges, custodians, and authorized participants need a well-developed ecosystem around the asset: secure custody solutions, deep derivatives markets, and robust on/off-ramps in major fiat currencies. While much of this infrastructure is already in place for XRP, ETF-level scrutiny tends to raise the bar.
There is also the broader competitive context. Blockchains like Solana, Ethereum, and others are aggressively courting the same institutional capital, offering high-speed trading, DeFi rails, and tokenization frameworks. Advocates of XRPL argue that it was early to features such as integrated DEX functionality and that its design is particularly suited to payments and FX-style settlement. Still, XRP must prove that it can maintain relevance in a multi-chain world, where institutions might diversify across several settlement networks.
If Ripple successfully executes on its AI roadmap, XRPL could gain a differentiated edge. Autonomous agents that can natively interact with XRP and RLUSD create the possibility of continuous, data-driven optimization of liquidity and settlement routes. For a bank or payment processor, this might translate into lower costs, faster reconciliation, and new revenue lines from automated financial services-advantages that could make XRPL more attractive than competing ledgers.
In the nearer term, observers will be watching for tangible signs that institutional usage of XRPL is translating into sustained on-chain activity: stable or rising transaction volumes, an expanding roster of regulated token issuers, and deeper integration with traditional capital markets. These practical indicators may prove more decisive for an XRP ETF’s prospects than speculative narratives alone.
Ultimately, Claver’s suggestion of a future BlackRock XRP ETF captures a broader shift in the digital asset space. As infrastructure matures and blockchain moves from experimentation to production, institutions are beginning to demand products that mirror traditional finance but are built atop new rails. XRP, anchored by the XRP Ledger and bolstered by Ripple’s push into payments and AI, is positioning itself as one of those rails. Whether BlackRock eventually files for an XRP ETF will depend on how convincingly that vision continues to take shape in the real economy.