Ripple CEO Asks IMF If They’ll Hold XRP—Clip Sends XRP Army Into Overdrive

• Ripple boss’ question regarding the position of IMF on XRP has ignited excitement within the ecosystem as analysts hint at a “grand plan” behind the scenes. 
• According to a legal representative of the IMF, its legal framework demands that at least one country should adopt a crypto asset as a currency before the institution can make a decision to hold it. 

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has elated enthusiasts as he asks the Deputy General Counsel in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Legal Department, Ross Leckow, whether they have an interest in holding XRP.

In an X post shared by analyst Xaif, this discussion occurred at the Singapore Fintech Festival. Leckow, who prefaced his response, highlighted that he does not want to delve deep into the IMF’s position. However, his conservative approach and reaction to this question, according to Xaif, implies that the IMF is making a significant move behind the scenes. Following his feedback, Garlinghouse humorously stated that Leckow appeared speechless at his question.

To clarify the confusion, the IMF’s legal team representative explained that its operation under the existing legal framework demands that at least a country has to legally recognize a digital asset as its official currency before the IMF could hold a crypto asset.

While no major economy has officially adopted a digital asset, several countries have taken the initial step to integrate blockchain-related solutions into their financial systems. Additionally, the US has taken the bold decision to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve, increasing the odds of future adoption as an official currency.

The IMF’s position on crypto integration has always been clear. According to them, their adoption could affect the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission, fiscal sustainability, as well as capital flow management measures due to their volatile nature.

Speaking at a joint conference with the South Korean government and central bank In 2023, the IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva stressed the need to avoid the negative effects of cryptos.

Our goal is to make a more efficient, interoperable and accessible financial system by providing rules to avoid the risks of crypto, and infrastructure by leveraging some of its technologies.

Garlinghouse Makes a Case for XRP

Garlinghouse earlier spoke comprehensively about the role of XRP during an event which had the IMF and the Swiss National Bank participating. As detailed in our last news piece, Garlinghouse explained that the creation of XRP was influenced by developers who recognized the limitations of Bitcoin. According to him, Bitcoin has scalability issues coupled with slow and expensive transactions.

Also, Garlinghouse spoke about how the traditional banking system has failed to fully serve some countries and payment systems. To address these challenges, he highlighted that XRP ensures that liquidity access is democratized while improving financial inclusion. As featured in our recent coverage, the Ripple boss is expected to make more disclosure about upcoming updates and the ongoing development around the ecosystem in the much anticipated XRPL Apex 2025.

Following the recent discussions with the IMF legal representative and the hype surrounding Leckow’s reactions, XRP investors made a marginal move into the market, pushing the price up by 1.8% in just 24 hours. At press time, the asset was trading at $2.1 with a market cap of $124 billion.

According to our recent analysis, XRP could stage a bullish reversal to $6 in the short term once the market regains momentum.