In a recent move, financial services heavyweights BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase have quietly acquired substantial holdings of XRP, the native token of Ripple.
According to a tweet by crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong, JPMorgan Chase has accumulated over 7.5 million XRP. This accounts for more than 7.5% of the bank’s total wealth. Additionally, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with over $10 trillion in assets under management, is said to be exploring adding Ripple coin to its portfolio of investments.
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Financial giants dive into XRP despite legal trouble
These purchases come despite the ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs, the company associated with XRP’s development, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over whether XRP counts as an unregistered security.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in 2020. The lawsuit alleged that its multi-billion-dollar XRP sales over the years amounted to the illegal sale of securities. The case is still awaiting a final verdict.
However, the recent moves from JPMorgan and BlackRock suggest the tides may be turning in favor of wider XRP adoption. As large traditional financial players invest heavily in digital tokens, it lends further legitimacy to not just Ripple coin but the overall cryptocurrency asset class.
“JPMorgan’s substantial holdings in XRP constitute a noteworthy revelation,” said Armstrong. “This shift in the crypto landscape, with major banks embracing digital assets like XRP, is not to be underestimated.”
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JPMorgan has notably softened its skeptical stance on cryptocurrencies in recent years. The bank has even unveiled plans to offer a managed Bitcoin fund to its private wealth clients. Meanwhile, BlackRock has been making increasingly enthusiastic notes about crypto’s disruptive potential.
With the endorsements of such dominant forces in global finance, the “XRP Army” may have good reason to believe that crypto’s time has finally come.