Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, directly mentioned XRP for the first time during a Town Hall meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The dialogue unfolded when an attendee, seemingly a supporter, asked Musk: âDo you envision the XRP Ledger being incorporated into financial institutions in the future?â
He responded thoughtfully: âI do think that cryptocurrency is an interesting and probably valuable bulwark against centralized control.â Musk, who has to be careful what he says in public due to his reach and popularity, apparently tried to avoid any misunderstandings and interpretations, which is why he clarified further, âthis is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP.â
The Tesla CEO further added, âbut I do think crypto by its very nature helps with individual freedom.â
BREAKING: đșđž ELON MUSK ASKED ABOUT $XRP!
Elon Musk was askedâ âDo you envision the XRP Ledger being incorporated into the financial institutions in the futureâ
Elon responded by stating â â This is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP, but I do think⊠pic.twitter.com/Y4fndBjiFg
đžElon Muskâs History With XRP
The community reacted swiftly to Muskâs comments. Vandell, known as Black Swan Capitalist (@vandell33) on X, speculated: âPay attention to how nervous he was. Muskâs response was as unexpected as it was revealing. Why can billionaires endorse Bitcoin & Dogecoin but canât speak on XRP? Think about it. The silence says it all.â
Notably, this instance marks the first time Musk has publicly commented on XRP during a speech. Members of the community have long been seeking Muskâs attention on X, hoping for his endorsement of the asset.
While Musk did not explicitly endorse XRP, he had two instances of interactions with the community. Previously, Musk has reacted to developments involving Ripple. In October 2022, he expressed surprise when the US Securities and Exchange Commission released drafts of former SEC Director William Hinmanâs speech on Ethereum to Ripple. Responding to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouseâs announcement, Musk tweeted, âNo way.â
A few months later, Musk praised an episode of âThe All-In Podcastâ that discussed topics including âInflation, market rips, Ripple/MSFT beat regulators, NATO summit, cocktails of youth,â calling it a âGood podcast.â
Despite these interactions, Musk has refrained from directly mentioning XRP in his posts on X. His public endorsements have primarily focused on Dogecoin (DOGE), the worldâs largest memecoin. During the 2020/2021 bull market, Muskâs frequent mentions of DOGE contributed to its surge to an all-time high in 2021. He has also occasionally referenced Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
There has also been considerable speculation about Elon Muskâs intentions to incorporate cryptocurrency into X Payment infrastructure. Following his acquisition and rebranding of Twitter to X, many believe that he aims to transform the platform into an âeverything app,â integrating social media with financial services.
Musk has hinted at the possibility of introducing cryptocurrency payments on X, and Dogecoin is frequently mentioned as a likely candidate due to his personal affinity for the token. In 2021 and 2022, Muskâs companies, Tesla and SpaceX, began accepting Dogecoin for merchandise purchases, signaling his willingness to adopt the cryptocurrency in practical applications.
At press time, XRP traded at $0.5551.
