Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz, in a June 5 video segment, outlined a major evolution for the XRP Ledger (XRPL). According to him, XRPL is positioning itself as a full-scale settlement and issuance layer for tokenized assets—including stocks, money market funds, repos, and on-chain lending—rather than remaining just a high-speed payments network. The shift reinforces a bullish narrative around XRP.

The roadmap is clearly defined, the buildout timeline is aggressive, and institutional partners are already involved. The real question now is execution: which components are already live, and which are still awaiting rollout?

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XRPL Today: A Solid RWA Foundation, But Key Products Still Ahead

XRPL’s progress in real-world assets (RWAs) is backed by hard data, not speculation. Tokenized RWAs on the network jumped from $24.7 million to $567.9 million خلال 2025—a 2,200% surge—and climbed further to around $2.325 billion by early 2026.

This growth ranks XRPL roughly 8th globally in tokenized RWAs, accounting for about 1.53% of the total market.

The dominant issuers—VERT Capital, RLUSD, and OpenEden—collectively made up 85.5% of the tokenized value as of mid-2025. Ripple’s regulated stablecoin RLUSD alone has reached a $1.3 billion market cap, making it the third-largest regulated stablecoin in the U.S.

That’s the current live infrastructure. The $2.3 billion figure is real. However, what it ultimately means for XRPL’s ambitions in tokenized equities and credit markets remains an open question.

On the protocol layer, two key building blocks stand out. First, the Multi-Purpose Token (MPT) standard enables complex financial instruments—such as bonds and funds—to be issued on-chain with embedded features like maturity dates and transfer restrictions, all without relying on custom smart contracts.

Second, the native lending protocol, introduced under XLS-66 and included in XRPL Version 3.0.0, supports fixed-term institutional loans using isolated vaults and automated repayment systems. In parallel, a permissioned decentralized exchange (DEX)—restricted to KYC-verified participants—has already launched its first live offering.

These are not theoretical concepts—they represent infrastructure that is actively being deployed. However, full activation of the lending protocol still hinges on an 80% validator supermajority vote under XLS-66.

Schwartz’s June 5 Message: What the Sequencing Reveals

In the “XRP in a Minute” segment, Schwartz’s framing was deliberate. He began by acknowledging Bitcoin’s role in proving that public blockchains can facilitate value storage and transfer. He then positioned XRPL as the next step—capable of supporting both native digital assets and issued assets like stablecoins and tokenized financial instruments.

He specifically highlighted near-term focus areas: tokenized securities, money market funds, and eventually tokenized stocks. On the credit side, he pointed to tokenized repos and loans. The sequence is telling.

Securities and funds come first, as they align with immediate institutional demand and existing compliance frameworks on XRPL. Repos and lending follow, dependent on the full rollout of the XLS-66 protocol.

While tokenized stocks were mentioned, there is still no confirmation that such products are live on XRPL as of now. That said, Archax—a UK-regulated digital securities exchange—has committed to a $1 billion pipeline that includes equities and fund units.

The technical stack—MPT, permissioned DEX, and credential-gated order books—is already capable of supporting tokenized equities. What’s missing is the official launch of live products.

Schwartz’s broader thesis is clear: enterprise-driven, compliance-first financial products will act as the gateway to mass adoption. In his view, institutional-grade infrastructure—not retail speculation or purely permissionless DeFi—will drive the next wave of tokenization.

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