Speaking at the XRP Las Vegas 2026 conference during a special “XRP in a Minute” segment, Uphold U.S. President Nancy Beaton explained why XRP is drawing fresh attention from both retail and institutional investors. Beaton pointed to two key drivers: upcoming on-chain yield mechanisms and a surge in tokenized real‑world assets on the XRP Ledger.
Retail yield opportunity. Investors are increasingly looking for passive income as traditional savings offer low returns. The XRP Ledger’s proposed XLS‑66 Lending Protocol, working alongside XLS‑65 Single Asset Vaults, would let users deposit XRP or stablecoins like RLUSD into pooled vaults and earn interest from borrowers. Borrowers would receive structured loans with fixed rates, while depositors enjoy first‑loss capital protection from vault operators. To go live, the protocol needs at least 80% validator approval for two consecutive weeks; currently, it sits at 22.86% after entering voting with the release of XRPL v3.1.0 in January 2026. In the meantime, the live XLS‑30 automated market maker already allows liquidity providers to earn fees, and Evernorth has publicly announced its intention to use the lending system once activated, highlighting potential multi‑billion‑dollar annual returns for the community.
Institutional tokenization momentum. On the institutional side, Beaton emphasized XRPL’s built‑in compliance tools, sub‑penny transaction costs, and 3‑5‑second settlement—a stark contrast to the slow and costly SWIFT network. These features are attracting major traditional players tokenizing real‑world assets. Archax launched the first tokenized money market fund on XRPL, giving digital access to abrdn’s £3.8 billion liquidity fund, with plans to add another $1 billion in tokenized assets by mid‑2026. Ondo Finance deployed its OUSG token—backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund—using Ripple’s RLUSD for transactions. In a landmark test, Ondo, JPMorgan, Mastercard, and Ripple completed a cross‑border redemption of a tokenized U.S. Treasury fund in under five seconds, something a wire transfer would take days to settle. Further, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, Aviva Investors, Guggenheim, OpenEden, Braza (with a regulated stablecoin), and Meld Gold (digital gold and silver certificates) have all moved onto XRPL in early 2026. The network added $1.4 billion in tokenized assets in 30 days, reaching $3.9 billion and becoming the fastest‑growing RWA blockchain in that period.
The combination of practical yield tools and deep institutional adoption is reshaping XRP’s value proposition, according to Beaton, positioning XRPL as a bridge between traditional finance and on‑chain finance.
