Bitwise CIO: XRP Moving Toward Stronger Value Capture as Staking Talks Gain Traction
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said XRP is entering a new phase of value capture as the industry shifts toward stronger economic models for token holders. In an X thread he argued many networks are improving how value accrues to holders and that XRP is now part of that trend. The XRP community has recently discussed introducing native staking on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) — a significant change because XRPL currently uses the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol (XLCP) with validator-based consensus and burns transaction fees rather than rewarding holders. RippleX engineering lead Ayo Akinyele and Ripple CTO David Schwartz have evaluated possible native staking designs; Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has encouraged community input. Meanwhile, DeFi solutions such as Flare Network’s FAssets (which lets holders stake XRP on Flare to mint FXRP for yield) already provide yield options. Bitwise’s newly launched XRP spot ETF on NYSE Arca is gaining inflows, with $163.11 million net inflows and $178.83 million AUM, holding about 80.5 million XRP. The discussion signals evolving value-capture mechanisms for XRP that could affect holder returns, DeFi utility, and institutional demand. (Not financial advice.)
Bullish
The news is bullish for XRP because discussions and engineering work around native staking, plus existing DeFi yield options and institutional adoption via Bitwise’s XRP spot ETF, increase potential demand and on-chain utility. Native staking would introduce new on-chain yield for holders and shift value capture from fee-burning alone toward reward mechanisms, likely encouraging longer-term holding and reducing circulating sell pressure. The ETF inflows (about $163.11M net and $178.83M AUM, ~80.5M XRP held) demonstrate concrete institutional interest that can support price discovery. In the short term, markets may react positively to confirmation or roadmap details for staking or further ETF inflows, producing upward price pressure and higher volatility around announcements. In the medium-to-long term, if XRPL implements sustainable staking rewards and fair distribution, XRP’s tokenomics would align more with yield-bearing PoS assets — potentially improving market sentiment, increasing on-chain activity, and attracting DeFi capital. Comparable past events: launches or upgrades that added staking or yield (e.g., major PoS migrations, ETF approvals) generally supported price appreciation and reduced short-term supply. Risks remain — design, governance, and economic trade-offs could delay or dilute benefits; speculative rallies can reverse if technical details disappoint. Overall, the combination of protocol discussion, DeFi workarounds, and ETF adoption points to a net positive (bullish) impact on XRP.