Ripple CTO Promotes XRP Ledger to $1.4 Trillion Asset Manager

The Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently touted the XRP Ledger’s capabilities in a promotional post directed toward $1.4 trillion asset manager Franklin Templeton.

The advent of spot Bitcoin ETFs has kickstarted a phase of convergence between the cryptocurrency industry and traditional finance. Notably, more TradFi giants are shifting their focus to crypto, and Franklin Templeton, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has decided to jump on this trend.

Franklin Templeton Recent Interest

Franklin Templeton, which boasts over $1.41T in assets under management (AUM), was one of the firms that filed for a spot BTC ETF, with its Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) approved alongside ten others last week.

The asset manager’s X account has continued to promote Bitcoin and crypto in multiple posts. Interestingly, they changed their X display picture to laser eyes Ben on Jan. 11, triggering reactions from the Bitcoin and broader crypto communities.

In the most recent development, Franklin Templeton published two separate posts highlighting the evolving ecosystems of the Ethereum network and the Solana network. These posts, made last night, triggered speculation that the asset manager has its eyes set on the duo. 

Shortly after spotlighting Solana and Ethereum, Franklin Templeton noted that besides Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, there are others layer-1 blockchain networks with potential. The asset manager said it would continue to monitor, develop, and support these networks.

Ripple CTO Reacts

In response, the Ripple CTO called attention to the XRP Ledger. The XRPL boasts some of the best features in the blockchain ecosystem, including low-cost transactions and an incredibly high speed. As a result, XRPL proponents have not shied away from an opportunity to highlight these features.

I agree @FTI_US! The XRPL's decade-long track record in reliability and stability is unmatched, especially in tokenizing and exchanging both crypto-native and real-world assets. #XRPL https://t.co/bvkxIrArPH

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 18, 2024

As a reply to Franklin Templeton, David Schwartz, who was one of Ledger’s original architects, stressed the XRPL’s reliability and stability, having handled millions of transactions in a fast and cost-efficient manner for over ten years.

Schwartz emphasized that the XRPL stands out in terms of tokenization and the exchange of real-world assets and crypto assets. It bears mentioning that Franklin Templeton also hinted at a potential focus on real-world asset tokenization in a post yesterday.

Also, in an interview last year, the Ripple CTO stressed that the XRPL is pivoting toward the tokenization of real-world assets, an evolving industry pursued by TradFi giants such as JPMorgan.

While Franklin Templeton’s intent for the recent disclosures remains to be seen, the consensus among crypto proponents is that the asset manager is now broadening its view to assess other crypto assets besides Bitcoin.

Schwartz’s remarks have triggered supporting responses from the broader XRP community, which has continued to push for a spot in the XRP ETF.

With the security status of assets such as Solana under contention, industry commentators cite XRP’s legal clarity as a strong basis for the introduction of a spot XRP ETF.