David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO emeritus, says XRP Ledger utility is moving beyond its early role in payments as enterprises test wider blockchain-based finance.
Summary
- David Schwartz says XRP Ledger use is expanding from payments into tokenized real-world financial assets.
- RLUSD’s multichain rollout gives XRPL developers more liquidity for tokenization, payments, and DeFi products.
- XRPL activity rose in Q1 as tokenized assets gained traction despite weaker XRP market performance.
His comments came in a recent “XRP in One Minute” session, where he said the network is being used for tokenized assets and may later support tokenized securities, stocks, money market funds, repos, and loans.
XRP Utility Moves Beyond Payments
Schwartz said Bitcoin opened the door for public blockchains by allowing users to hold and transfer value without a central operator. He said the XRP Ledger followed with a similar native asset model, while also supporting issued assets.
That design allowed XRPL to handle assets beyond XRP itself. These can include stablecoins, tokenized funds, and other blockchain-based versions of real-world assets.
Schwartz said enterprises are now using the XRP Ledger to provide tokenized real-world assets. He added that future products may include tokenized securities, money market funds, stocks, repos, and loans.
“Enterprises are using the XRP Ledger to provide tokenized real-world assets,” Schwartz said in the short video format, according to the report.
RLUSD Expansion Adds Fresh XRPL Context
The comments came as Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin continued to expand across blockchain networks. Crypto.news reported that RLUSD is now available across more than 40 chains through Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers framework.
The rollout includes Ethereum layer-2 networks such as Base, Optimism, Ink, and Unichain. It also includes the XRP Ledger EVM sidechain, giving developers access to RLUSD through Ethereum-compatible tools.
This matters for XRPL because stablecoin liquidity is often needed for tokenized finance products. Payments, lending, asset trading, and on-chain settlement usually need a reliable dollar asset.
Crypto.news also reported that RLUSD has grown to more than $1.7 billion in market capitalization since its late-2024 launch. That growth gives Ripple a larger stablecoin base as it pushes into institutional blockchain use.
XRPL Data Shows Tokenization Growth
Recent network data also shows rising XRPL activity. Crypto.news cited Messari data showing that XRP Ledger daily transactions rose 35.3% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026.
The same report said XRPL’s real-world asset market cap rose 124.1% during the quarter to $2.25 billion. RLUSD also reached $340.3 million on XRPL by quarter-end, making it the network’s largest stablecoin.
That data shows a split between XRP’s price action and ledger activity. XRP fell during the quarter, but transactions, stablecoin use, and tokenized asset value moved higher.
Tokenized Funds and Loans Become the Next Test
Schwartz’s comments point to a broader push into tokenized finance. The main question is whether enterprise use can lead to deeper retail access over time.
Tokenized securities, repos, and loans would bring more traditional finance products onto XRPL. These markets are large, but they also need compliance, custody, liquidity, and trusted issuers.
Crypto.news previously reported that JPMorgan, Mastercard, Ripple, and Ondo tested a cross-border tokenized Treasury redemption using XRPL and banking rails.
That pilot showed how XRPL can support asset movement while traditional banks handle cash settlement. For XRP, the next test is whether more of these pilots turn into live financial products with real user demand.
