Morgan Creek Capital CEO Mark Yusko has made a rare bullish statement regarding Ripple’s cross-border payments cryptocurrency XRP.
In a recent appearance on the Good Morning Crypto Show, Yusko said that there had been increasing talks that the new Donald Trump regime could create a wider strategic crypto reserve beyond Bitcoin to include other coins such as Ripple’s XRP, Hedera (HBAR) and Cardano’s ADA. He noted that the creators of these altcoins have been strengthening their relationships with the Trump family, specifically with the president’s son, Eric Trump.
Yusko further suggested that as Bitcoin is considered by investors as “digital gold”, other crypto assets like XRP could perform other roles in the wider financial sector. Particularly, he points to rumors that XRP could be used as a base layer for national banking.
“There’s some talk that XRP could be utilized and/or ordered to be used for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) — or as the base layer for national banking. If that does happen, that changes things,” Yusko quipped.
Strategic XRP Reserve
Just before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the XRP price surged 45%, coming real close to its current lifetime high of $3.40, as market sentiment turned increasingly bullish.
The upsurge came after a leak revealed that the Trump government may create an “America-first strategic reserve” — prioritizing US-created cryptocurrencies like XRP. The leak claimed Trump was “receptive” to the idea following meetings with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
Notably, Garlinghouse and Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty attended a private dinner with President Trump earlier this month. Garlinghouse revealed some details of the lavish dinner on X, describing it as a “great dinner’ and a “strong start to 2025”, as ZyCrypto reported.
XRP has since declined by over 5%, in part due to the lack of any confirmation about the reserve asset claim.
