XRP entered a high-level discussion about the U.S. national debt after Newsmax host Carl Higbie asked Vice President JD Vance whether the national cryptocurrency reserve could help offset government liabilities. The exchange occurred during an Aug. 20 Newsmax interview covering the U.S. debt, economic growth, and the Trump administration’s fiscal strategy.
Higbie noted that President Donald Trump previously discussed a cryptocurrency reserve involving bitcoin, XRP and several other digital assets. He asked whether the government had any plans to use those assets to begin offsetting the national debt, which exceeded $40 trillion in August, according to Treasury Department data.
Vance did not address XRP directly or announce a new cryptocurrency policy. Instead, he emphasized economic growth and a proposed sovereign wealth fund that could make investments on behalf of the country. He also referred to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s economic strategy, describing it as a plan to get the economy “growing faster than our debt.” He did not say the government would buy XRP, use cryptocurrency to repay the debt, or place digital assets in the proposed sovereign wealth fund.
Trump named XRP, bitcoin, ether, solana and cardano when he first discussed a cryptocurrency reserve in March 2025. However, the executive order signed four days later created two separate government holdings: a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. The order does not identify XRP individually and does not authorize acquiring additional non-bitcoin assets without further executive or legislative action. Nothing Vance said during the interview changed that policy.
XRP traded near $1.56 early Aug. 22 after climbing from approximately $1 at the beginning of the week. The token briefly approached $1.70 as trading volume increased. The price rally began Aug. 19, before the Vance interview aired, showing that the interview did not cause the initial increase. XRP remained above its 50-period exponential moving average near $1.16 on the four-hour chart, while its relative strength index reached 88.78, indicating strong but extended momentum. An RSI reading above 70 is commonly viewed as overbought and can signal increased risk of volatility or profit-taking.
The chart places the nearest potential support around $1.34, an earlier resistance level cleared during the breakout. A deeper support area sits near $1.16, close to the 50-period moving average. A sustained move above $1.70 could support further gains, while a decline below $1.34 would weaken the immediate breakout and increase the possibility of a broader correction. The interview placed XRP within a national discussion about debt and government-held digital assets, but it produced no official commitment to buy XRP, use it against the debt, or expand its role in U.S. cryptocurrency policy.
