Financial Expert Says This Move By JPMorgan Validates XRP As A Legitimate Asset

Market expert Paul Barron has commented on JPMorgan’s potential move to offer crypto-backed loans. The analyst further noted how this development provides more legitimacy to XRP as an asset class. 

How JPMorgan’s Move Is “Massive” For XRP

In an X post, Paul Barron noted that JPMorgan, which boasts $4.3 trillion in assets under management (AuM), is considering crypto-backed loans. He declared that this is a huge validation for XRP, ETH, and BTC as legitimate collateral assets. The expert added that when the world’s largest bank recognizes crypto’s value as loan backing, then the market is witnessing the bridge between TradFi and DeFi.

JPmorgan reportedly plans to roll out this credit service by 2026, in which it will start lending directly against these major crypto assets. Although the bank is initially focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP could also become an option at some point. The altcoin is currently the third-largest crypto by market cap, which makes it the next suitable option after BTC and ETH.  

Such a move for XRP would be massive, considering it could lead to greater adoption among traditional finance clients who want to access JPMorgan’s credit services. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the altcoin’s potential is well known to the bank, as they commented earlier this year on the potential inflows the XRP ETFs could attract. 

The banking giant predicted that the XRP ETFs could attract between $4 billion and $8 billion in their first year, based on the altcoin’s market cap of $146 billion at the time. However, XRP’s market cap has since surged, topping $200 million recently. As such, these ETFs could even witness higher inflows as they potentially get approved this year. 

XRP Already In The TradFi Space Through Ripple

Ahead of JPMorgan’s potential approval of XRP as collateral, it is worth noting that the altcoin is already in the traditional finance (TradFi) space, thanks to Ripple’s operations. The altcoin is even set to enjoy greater adoption thanks to Ripple’s application for a national banking license. A banking license would expand the firm’s payment operations, of which XRP plays a crucial role.

The approval of Ripple’s application still hangs in the balance, as U.S. banking associations have urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to delay its approval. Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton has, however, come to Ripple’s defense. 

In an X post, he called on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Officials David Sacks and Bo Hines to intervene and caution the banking associations, which are opposed to the banking license being granted. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $3.12, down over 10% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.