Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk mentioned XRP directly for the first time during a town hall meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The conversation began when one of the attendees, who appeared to be a supporter, asked Musk: “Do you envision the XRP Ledger being integrated into financial institutions in the future?”
“I think cryptocurrency represents an interesting and potentially valuable bulwark against central control,” he thoughtfully replied. Musk, who has to be careful what he says publicly given his reach and popularity, appears to have tried to avoid any misunderstandings and interpretations, which is why he further clarified, “This is definitely not an endorsement or disapproval of XRP.”
The Tesla CEO also added: “But I think cryptocurrencies inherently help with individual freedom.”
break: Elon Musk asked about this $XRP!
Elon Musk was asked: “Do you envision the XRP Ledger being integrated into financial institutions in the future?”
Elon responded by saying, “This is certainly not an endorsement or disfavor of XRP, but I think… pic.twitter.com/Y4fndBjiFg
– Good morning, crypto (@AbsGMCrypto) October 20, 2024
Elon Musk’s history with XRP
The community reacted quickly to Musk’s comments. Vandell, known as Black Swan Capitalist (@vandell33) on X, forecast: “Watch how nervous he is. Musk’s response was as unexpected as it was revealing. Why can billionaires endorse Bitcoin and Dogecoin but can’t talk about XRP? Think about it. The silence says it all.”
Notably, this case marks the first time Musk has publicly commented on XRP during his speech. Community members have long sought to bring Musk’s attention to the X, hoping to gain his approval of the original.
Although Musk has not explicitly endorsed XRP, he has had two instances of interaction with the community. Previously, Musk reacted to developments related to Ripple. In October 2022, he expressed surprise when the SEC released drafts of former SEC Director William Hinman’s letter on Ethereum to Ripple. In response 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 disruption, Ripple/MSFT beating regulators, the NATO summit, and youth cocktails” as “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 references to DOGE contributed to its rally to an all-time high in 2021. He also occasionally referenced Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
There has also been significant speculation about Elon Musk’s intentions to integrate cryptocurrency into the X Payment infrastructure. After acquiring Twitter and rebranding it as X, many believe it aims to turn the platform into an “app for everything”, merging social media with financial services.
Musk has hinted at the possibility of offering cryptocurrency payments on X, and Dogecoin is often mentioned as a potential candidate due to his personal affinity for the token. In 2021 and 2022, Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, began accepting Dogecoin to purchase goods, indicating his willingness to adopt the cryptocurrency in practical applications.
At press time, XRP was trading at $0.5551.
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