The XRP Ledger possesses strong technical capabilities, but technology alone will not guarantee institutional adoption, according to Anthony Welfare, a former adviser to Ripple on central bank digital currencies. Speaking on the AllinCrypto Podcast, Welfare outlined the gap between technical readiness and real-world deployment.
What the Technology Offers
The XRP Ledger's features are suited to payments and tokenization. Its strengths include speed, low transaction costs, and a native decentralized exchange. Welfare emphasized that the XRP asset and the XRP Ledger are separate, allowing institutions to use ledger functions without relying on the token itself.
Based on his experience advising central banks and working on payment projects, Welfare stated that the technical foundation exists. However, he identified four critical gaps between capability and deployment: liquidity, custody, compliance, and interoperability.
The Practical Hurdles
Welfare's analysis suggests that private blockchains will likely expand first, with some activity later anchoring to public networks. He also identified a potential role for auditable transaction records that artificial intelligence agents can rely on, requiring trusted transaction layers.
Stablecoins could reduce payment friction and create new opportunities for existing financial players, rather than displacing them, according to his view.
Recent Momentum in the Ecosystem
Several developments suggest growing institutional interest. A European consortium is targeting euro stablecoin adoption across multiple networks, including the XRP Ledger. Ripple has expanded partnerships, including Ripple Prime services for Brevan Howard. An integration with DriveWealth uses RLUSD on the XRP Ledger to expedite global funding.
The International Monetary Fund has included the XRP Ledger in discussions of tokenized finance alongside other public ledgers.
New Market Access
Evernorth, a Ripple-backed vehicle holding approximately 473 million XRP, debuted on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN in October. Shares opened at $16.68, reached $19.38, and closed at $16.91 on Monday, October 12. By Wednesday, October 14, XRPN closed at $15.26, down 7.40%. This listing provides traditional investors stock-market exposure to a large XRP treasury without purchasing tokens directly.
Despite recent activity and ecosystem expansion, whether this institutional engagement translates into sustained demand remains unresolved.
