Here’s Why XRP Doesn’t Need to be Backed by Gold

Versan Aljarrah, XRP community pundit and host of the Black Swan Capitalist, has explained how he believes XRP could gain exposure to gold.

According to Aljarrah, this could happen not through a gold backing but with XRP acting as a bridge for gold-backed tokens on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). His comments follow a wave of community speculation suggesting XRP might eventually be tied to gold, an idea that has faced criticism for lacking technical support.

How XRP Could Create a Synthetic Link to Gold

In his latest commentary, Aljarrah clarified that XRP doesn’t need to carry a gold backing to benefit from its value. He believes XRP just needs to facilitate the movement of gold-pegged stablecoins on the XRPL.

For context, each token represents one gram of physical gold, stored securely by custodians such as MKS Pamp and Imperial Vaults. Meld Gold will allow the token to integrate real-world assets like gold and silver with XRPL’s DeFi tools, including its built-in decentralized exchange.

So far, Meld Gold is the only project looking to launch on the XRPL. Other gold-backed tokens, like PAX Gold (PAXG), hold strong reputations but haven’t launched on XRPL yet. Aljarrah sees a future where there is a flood of such tokens on the XRPL.

Persistent Calls for XRP to Bridge Gold-backed Tokens

Notably, the Black Swan Capitalist host has persistently promoted the idea of XRP powering a gold-linked financial system. In May, he released a critique of today’s monetary structure.

Aljarrah argued that tokenizing gold on-chain, particularly on XRPL, could lead to a more transparent and stable financial system. In that setup, XRP would serve as the asset connecting these tokenized gold units.

Meanwhile, five months ago, Aljarrah claimed that financial giants such as JP Morgan, BlackRock, the BIS, and the IMF had already made private decisions to place XRP at the center of a future monetary framework. While he suggested that XRP could act as the eventual bridge of this system, he failed to provide any evidence.

Theories of XRP Receiving a Gold Backing Lack Technical Support

These comments come as other community voices have floated theories of a future where XRP sees a gold backing. In February, Edoardo Farina from Alpha Lions Academy speculated that XRP could connect to U.S. gold reserves in Fort Knox. However, he admitted that his idea had no proof and remained purely theoretical.

Also, earlier this year, several XRP community members suggested that XRP would be supported by the gold price of around $2,953 at the time. This idea gained traction across social media, but like others before it, it lacked any technical support.

Matt Hamilton, former Director of Developer Relations at Ripple, has consistently pushed back against these claims. Starting in 2023, and continuing through 2024 and 2025, he firmly stated that XRP couldn’t be backed by gold.