Saad Ullah
Bitwise CEO thinks Ripple might transform into an "XRP treasury company" within a year, which could shake up the crypto's price big time.
Ripple might be about to pull a major pivot that could change everything for XRP holders. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley dropped a bombshell recently, suggesting that Ripple could ditch its payments focus and become an "XRP treasury company" within the next 12 months.
This isn't just random speculation. With companies across the board starting to hoard crypto as treasury assets, Ripple's massive XRP stash puts them in a pretty sweet spot to make this kind of move. The question is: what would this mean for XRP's price?
XRP Holdings Make Ripple a Natural Treasury Play
Here's the thing about Ripple - they're sitting on a mountain of XRP. According to their latest quarterly report, the company holds 4.56 billion XRP tokens outright. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
There's another 37 billion XRP locked up in escrow, getting released monthly through smart contracts. When you add it all up, Ripple controls roughly 42% of XRP's entire supply. That's insane levels of control for any crypto.
Sure, they don't technically "own" the escrowed tokens since smart contracts handle the releases automatically. But let's be real - having that much influence over supply is basically like having a treasury already.
XRP Price Benefits from Corporate Treasury Trend
The timing couldn't be better. Companies are going crazy for crypto treasuries right now, and XRP is getting serious attention. Trident Digital Tech Holdings wants to raise $500 million in XRP. Webus International is shooting for $300 million. These aren't small players messing around.
VivoPower International and Wellgistics Health have already secured $121 million and $50 million respectively to build their XRP treasuries. When companies start treating your crypto like digital gold, that's usually pretty bullish for the price.
Think about it - if more companies start buying XRP for long-term holds instead of quick trades, there's less supply floating around while demand keeps growing. That's Economics 101 for price appreciation.
XRP Price Potential Gets Massive Boost
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been saying their $11 billion company valuation is "very outdated." No wonder - their XRP holdings are worth about $100 billion at current prices. That's a huge disconnect.
If Ripple does go the treasury route like Horsley suggests, it could be a game-changer. Instead of just running a payments business, they'd be actively working to pump up their XRP holdings. That alignment of interests could be exactly what XRP needs to break out of its current price range.
The next 12 months could be wild for XRP. With corporate treasury adoption heating up and Ripple potentially joining the party, we might see some serious price action ahead.
Saad Ullah
