Key Takeaways
- Ripple Prime is expanding into financing leveraged ETFs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Earlier holder criticism has focused on whether Ripple’s institutional growth benefits XRP.
- Ripple has outlined roles for RLUSD and the XRP Ledger, but those plans do not establish proportionate demand for XRP.
Ripple’s expansion into Wall Street financing is putting a familiar concern for XRP holders back into focus — how much of the company’s success actually reaches the token?
An Oct. 7 Wall Street Journal report highlighted Ripple’s growing role in financing leveraged exchange-traded funds, a business traditionally associated with banks and securities firms.
The development strengthens Ripple’s institutional credentials as XRP supporters circulate price predictions ranging from $1,000 to more than $100,000.
But those extraordinary targets face a crucial adoption test — can winning financial-services customers translate into substantial demand for XRP?
What Ripple Is Actually Doing on Wall Street
The business behind the viral headlines is Ripple Prime, the institutional brokerage platform developed through Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road.
Ripple announced the $1.25 billion acquisition in April 2025, gaining a business serving institutional customers across foreign exchanges and fixed income.
In August 2026, Ripple Prime launched its Delta One business, allowing clients to execute total return swaps linked to US-listed equities and digital assets.
A total return swap gives a fund exposure to an asset’s performance through a contract with a counterparty, rather than requiring the fund to own that asset directly.
For example, a leveraged ETF targeting twice a stock’s daily return can use derivatives to build that exposure. The financing provider also earns fees for supporting the position.
The institutional push also gained another customer milestone on Oct. 6, when Ripple announced that Brevan Howard funds would use Ripple Prime for multi-asset prime brokerage and financing.
Why Some XRP Holders Are Frustrated
The concern from token holders has been bubbling for years.
In June, Cryptonews documented hostile responses to Ripple’s Swell announcement, with some users complaining that the company was prioritizing its dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, over XRP.
Ripple can generate revenue from financing and other institutional services — but owning XRP does not give a holder shares in those businesses,
For the token to benefit through utility, growing activity needs to translate into demand for XRP.
RLUSD and the XRP Ledger Have Different Roles
Ripple has continued to outline a connection between its brokerage business and its blockchain ecosystem.
Its original Hidden Road acquisition announcement identified RLUSD as collateral across prime brokerage products and set out plans to migrate post-trade activity to the XRP Ledger.
Collateral supports trading positions, while post-trade infrastructure handles processes after a transaction has been agreed.
However, neither description means the full value of every trade must pass through XRP.
Nevertheless, XRP has a required role in operating the ledger, even if it is small.
Transactions pay costs in XRP, which is destroyed, while accounts must meet XRP reserve requirements.
$1,000 to $100,000 XRP Calls Meet the Adoption Test
The gap between Ripple’s institutional expansion and demand for the token has not stopped supporters from circulating extraordinary price targets.
In a post on X, commentator FutureXRP, known as @the5blairs, compiled bullish claims ranging from three-digit prices to more than $100,000 per token.
The roundup attributed a $1,000-by-2030 forecast to EasyA co-founder Dom Kwok, a $1,200–$1,700 range to Remi Relief, and scenarios spanning $100 to more than $100,000 to Beyond Broke.
It also listed a $5–$4,300 range attributed to Teucrium CEO Sal Gilbertie.
However, not all of the claims.
Mitchnick and economist Susan Athey published a valuation framework in 2018 that produced a probability-weighted, present-value range of $1.59–$8.23 for XRP under their chosen assumptions.
They also acknowledged a significant probability of near-zero long-term value.
Later calculators using that same framework can now produce much higher figures when users enter more aggressive assumptions.
For example, Beyond Broke’s Jake Claver’s massive predictions are based on particular assumptions that may not come true.
Similarly, even though David Schwartz’s stated that XRP “can’t be dirt cheap,” he also claimed it would unlikely hit $100.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
