Paul Barron, host of the Paul Barron Network, suggests Fundstrat’s Tom Lee could emulate VivoPower’s strategy to gain XRP exposure through Ripple’s shares at a discount.
In a recent post on X, Barron explained how VivoPower’s approach allows the company to indirectly hold XRP while paying far less than the market price. He called it a valuation gap that allows investors to benefit from Ripple’s massive XRP holdings without buying the tokens directly.
Barron Urges Tom Lee to Gain XRP Exposure
Specifically, Barron stressed that Ripple Labs holds about 41 billion XRP tokens, worth around $135 billion at current market prices. For context, these were the figures cited during the initial VivoPower announcement.
Yet, the company confirmed buying Ripple shares at an average private valuation of only $19 billion. This gap gave VivoPower an 86% discount on XRP exposure, putting the company’s effective purchase price at around $0.47 per token. Notably, Ripple’s valuation has since risen to $40 billion, reducing the discount.
Meanwhile, Barron turned his attention to Tom Lee, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Fundstrat and Chairman of BitMine.
He suggested that Lee could take a similar route by buying Ripple shares directly from current shareholders through formal agreements, rather than acquiring XRP from Ripple itself. Notably, this method could give Lee access to XRP exposure at a steep discount, just as VivoPower achieved.
This idea has resonated well with the XRP community due to BitMine’s sizable Ethereum treasury. For context, BitMine currently holds about 1.713 million ETH worth nearly $5.95 billion and plans to expand its holdings to 5% of the total ETH supply. What if it diversified its portfolio to include XRP?
The VivoPower Strategy
Notably, VivoPower announced its plan in August 2025 as part of a shift toward a digital asset treasury focused on XRP. VivoPower budgeted $100 million for Ripple share acquisitions, subject to executive approval and shareholder agreements.
At that time, Ripple’s 41 billion XRP tokens had a value of about $135 billion, but the company’s private market valuation stood at only $19 billion.
Based on this valuation, VivoPower’s $100 million investment gave it indirect exposure to roughly 211 million XRP, worth about $696 million then. The company estimated that every $10 million in Ripple shares could raise its shareholder value by about $5.15 per share, depending on market conditions.
VivoPower also planned to pair its Ripple share purchases with direct XRP buys to lower its average cost, becoming the first U.S.-listed firm to hold both Ripple equity and XRP tokens.
Meanwhile, during a presentation at the XRP Meetup in New York, Adam Traidman, VivoPower’s Advisory Board Chairman and a former Ripple board member, provided an update. He called VivoPower’s strategy DAT 2.0, contrasting the approach used by Bitcoin and Ethereum treasury firms.
DATs are collapsing, according to the former @Ripple board member.
VIVOPOWER has been BUYING $XRP exposure at 84% OFF by purchasing shares in @Ripple.
With the new Ripple $40B Valuation, the XRP discount is effectively 59% off.
VivoPower Strategy explained here:… pic.twitter.com/ypSrGAgRsC
— 🌸Crypto Eri ~ Carpe Diem (@sentosumosaba) November 12, 2025
Notably, Ripple’s private market valuation has since jumped from $19 billion to $40 billion. Even with that increase, VivoPower still benefits from a notable discount. The original 86% markdown had narrowed to about 59%.
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