Uphold’s U.S. president, Nancy Beaton, says XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) are in a position to benefit as traditional finance moves onto blockchain technology.
In a video on Ripple’s official YouTube channel, Beaton said the shift from traditional banking to blockchain finance is already underway. She believes companies like Ripple, Uphold, and other fintech firms will need to work together to make this transition happen.
Beaton also explained that Uphold is more than a platform for buying and trading digital assets. Its API-based technology lets other businesses use its infrastructure to build and offer financial services.
This infrastructure is useful for banks and financial institutions that want to offer digital assets to customers without building their own blockchain systems.
Uphold and Ripple Work More Closely on XRPL
Beaton said Uphold is “constantly working together” with Ripple and the XRP Ledger (XRPL), while also pointing to opportunities to work with other companies in the XRPL ecosystem.
She said Uphold, Ripple, and XRPL can work together to give banks and other financial institutions a complete solution for offering digital assets to their customers.
This positions XRPL as more than just a cryptocurrency network. The blockchain is also becoming part of the infrastructure supporting financial services moving onto the blockchain.
Meanwhile, Ripple increasingly focuses on using XRP and XRPL in regulated financial markets. Its 2026 plans include regulated finance, tokenization, cross-chain liquidity, and other financial infrastructure use cases.
XRP Has an Advantage
Beaton believes XRP and the XRP Ledger have an important role to play as the financial system moves to blockchain. Specifically, she said XRPL and XRP could lead this transition, giving them a “leg up” in the market.
One major advantage of blockchain is the ability to make financial transactions faster and cheaper. Blockchain networks operate 24/7 and offer lower-cost transactions compared with many traditional payment systems.
Blockchain also makes international money transfers faster. Instead of waiting days and paying high fees to move money across borders, transactions can take place continuously and at much lower costs.
These benefits give banks and other financial institutions a strong reason to adopt blockchain technology.
From Payments to a Blockchain-Based Economy
Beaton sees blockchain as a way to give people greater control over their money and assets. It allows people to move assets across borders, earn returns, and use digital assets in different financial services.
She said sending money will eventually become as easy as sending an email. Digital assets will also allow people to earn returns on their holdings and use crypto as collateral for loans.
This goes beyond simply making payments faster. Blockchain is building a financial system where asset ownership, payments, lending, and transaction settlement operate on shared infrastructure.
As more banks and financial institutions use blockchain for payments and settlement, demand for the XRP Ledger and XRP will increase.