During a recent town meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, made his first mention of XRP, attracting widespread interest.
The reference came when an attendee, a cryptocurrency advocate, asked Musk whether he foresees the XRP Ledger being used by financial institutions in the future. Musk, choosing his words carefully, noted that he believes in the potential of cryptocurrencies as a safeguard against centralized systems of control while emphasizing that his comments should not be construed as an endorsementâor disapprovalâof XRP. He further explained his stance, stating, âCryptocurrencies inherently promote individual liberty.â
The revelation quickly gained traction on social media. Vandell, who goes by the handle Black Swan Capitalist (@vandell33) on X, pointed to Muskâs cautious stance, considering the broader implications of billionaires endorsing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin over XRP. He suggested that Muskâs cautious response could be telling.
Elon Musk's participation in the event marks his first public discussion of XRP, after years of ignoring community efforts to support X. While not publicly endorsing XRP, Musk has subtly interacted with the community on separate occasions.
In October 2022, Musk expressed surprise over Twitter at the release of a draft of former SEC Director William Hinman's speech on Ethereum by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He simply responded with "No way" to updates from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Musk later praised an episode of "The All-In Podcast" that covered topics ranging from inflation to Ripple's dealings with regulators, calling it a "good podcast."
Despite these indirect interactions, Musk has not directly mentioned XRP on X, instead focusing primarily on Dogecoin (DOGE). His frequent mentions of DOGE during the 2020/2021 bull market have fueled the memecoinâs meteoric rise. While he has also occasionally mentioned Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the impact of his endorsements has been strongest with Dogecoin.
Speculation continues about Muskâs potential plans to integrate cryptocurrency into the X Payment ecosystem. Since acquiring and rebranding Twitter as X, there has been speculation that Musk intends to develop the platform into a comprehensive âeverything appâ that combines social media and financial services.
Cryptocurrency payments, specifically Dogecoin, are seen as possible future additions, given Muskâs apparent enthusiasm for the digital currency. His companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have adopted Dogecoin for select commodity transactions, suggesting he is open to its practical application. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5551.
