“Don’t Sleep on XRP” CoinFund President Perkins Says

In a recent episode of the Unchained podcast, Chris Perkins, President of CoinFund, insisted that the industry does not overlook Ripple (XRP).

During the conversation, Austin Campbell, founder of Zero Knowledge Group, called on Perkins to share his thoughts on what he thinks people might have missed about Ripple. 

Notably, Perkins explained that it was a busy week in New York City, featuring industry conferences like Chainlink’s SmartCon and Ripple Swell, both drawing major attention. He focused on Swell, which he said shows the company’s rising momentum.

“Don’t Sleep on Ripple”

Perkins noted that while he wasn’t presenting investment advice, he believed Ripple’s position in the market demanded serious attention. 

“I’m not telling you to buy the token or not buy the token. Do your research. I don’t care. But the point that I was making is you really can’t sleep on Ripple (XRP),” the industry expert said.

Perkins highlighted XRP market cap of above $130 billion, calling it a sign of how strong Ripple’s foundation has become. He mentioned Ripple’s recent move, such as its plans to distribute its stablecoin RLUSD, and its acquisition of Hidden Road, as indicators of an ambitious expansion strategy.

“They have a ton of capital,” Perkins said, adding that Ripple’s ecosystem “could be formidable if they execute.” He compared XRP’s market value to that of major financial giants, noting that CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) each stand at around $90 billion, which puts XRP’s valuation well above both. 

Perkins said he was eager to see how Ripple would use its capital, describing the company as “very much on the offense right now.”

“Ripple is ‘Capital in Search of Customers'”

Responding to Perkins’ remarks, Campbell noted that he had previously viewed Ripple as “capital in search of customers,” arguing that the firm’s major challenge rests on distribution. 

He explained that for stablecoins to thrive, strong distribution networks have always been the differentiating factor. “If you look at stablecoins that have succeeded over time, distribution has almost always been the winning thing,” he said.

Campbell noted that the most successful stablecoins, especially those surpassing $20 billion in market value, have some links to major exchanges. He questioned how Ripple plans to reach users and build adoption for RLUSD to succeed.

Meanwhile, he suggested that Ripple seems to have taken a business-to-business (B2B) rather than business-to-consumer (B2C) approach, which aligns with its recent activities and partnerships. 

Campbell added that a central question is whether value from Ripple’s operations will accrue to the XRP token or to other parts of its ecosystem. With this, he emphasized that the comments were not investment advice on whether to buy XRP or not.

Ripple’s Acquisitions

Following up on Campbell’s remarks, Ram Ahluwalia agreed with the distribution question but praised one of Ripple’s recent moves. He described Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, a growing prime brokerage, as one of the smartest decisions the company has made. 

Ahluwalia compared the deal to AOL’s acquisition of Time Warner, saying it represented a moment when a high-value digital company decided to acquire a “real business” with tangible financial infrastructure.

Teddy Fusaro, President at Bitwise, said that having such capital allows Ripple to pursue impactful acquisitions like Hidden Road and to invest in businesses that trade derivatives, futures, options, and swaps. 

According to Fusaro, these moves show Ripple’s intent to bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto markets, which he described as a major trend influencing the industry.

He emphasized that Ripple’s executive team has the experience to guide the company through transitions between traditional and digital finance. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see them do more and be a leader into the future,” Fusaro said.