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: “Do you envision the XRP Ledger being incorporated into financial institutions in the future?”
He responded thoughtfully: “I do think that cryptocurrency is an interesting and probably valuable bulwark against centralized control.” 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, “this is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP.”
The Tesla CEO further added, “but I do think crypto by its very nature helps with individual freedom.”
BREAKING: 🇺🇸 ELON MUSK ASKED ABOUT $XRP!
Elon Musk was asked— “Do you envision the XRP Ledger being incorporated into the financial institutions in the future”
Elon responded by stating — “ This is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP, but I do think… pic.twitter.com/Y4fndBjiFg
— Good Morning Crypto (@AbsGMCrypto) October 20, 2024
Elon Musk’s History With XRP
The community reacted swiftly to Musk’s comments. Vandell, known as Black Swan Capitalist (@vandell33) on X, speculated: “Pay attention to how nervous he was. Musk’s response was as unexpected as it was revealing. Why can billionaires endorse Bitcoin & Dogecoin but can’t speak on XRP? Think about it. The silence says it all.”
Notably, this instance marks the first time Musk has publicly commented on XRP during a speech. Members of the community have long been seeking Musk’s 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 Hinman’s speech on Ethereum to Ripple. Responding to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s announcement, Musk tweeted, “No way.”
A few months later, Musk praised an episode of “The All-In Podcast” that discussed topics including “Inflation, market rips, Ripple/MSFT beat regulators, NATO summit, cocktails of youth,” calling it a “Good podcast.”
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 world’s largest memecoin. During the 2020/2021 bull market, Musk’s 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 Musk’s 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 “everything app,” 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, Musk’s 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.
Featured image from X, chart from TradingView.com
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