Birla argued that tokenized assets are of little use without liquidity around them. Korea’s deep $XRP markets, he said, mean tokenized products launched there should be readily available, with prices close to what investors would pay off-chain.
He also said retail investors in Korea are currently ahead of institutions. Once new regulation passes, he expects the two groups to support each other.
From Payment Token To Capital Asset
Hugo of Flare said his firm sees $XRP as more than a token for moving money on the $XRP Ledger. On Flare, holders can:
- Borrow dollar-backed stablecoins against their $XRP
- Put those dollars into other assets
- Keep exposure to any rise in $XRP’s price while doing so
He said this turns $XRP from a transaction token into a capital asset that can earn yield or back a loan.
50 Million $XRP Committed To Firelight
A speaker from Firelight said the platform launched pre-deposit vaults at the start of the year and has already received 50 million $XRP in commitments. Firelight wants to build an insurance and protection layer on-chain, so that staked $XRP acts as an economic backstop for decentralized finance.
The speaker said the lack of strong risk infrastructure is a problem across DeFi, not only for $XRP. Retail users and institutions will both need that protection before on-chain capital markets can grow.
What It Means For $XRP
The panel’s message was that $XRP’s next stage of growth may depend on what holders do with their tokens, not on trading volume. Korea already has the volume. The open question, panellists said, is whether lending, yield and insurance products can turn that trading activity into capital that stays on-chain.
