Kimes sees echoes of that in $XRP. Ripple, which created the token, still holds a massive escrow of coins. If released gradually and strategically, he argues, those reserves could stabilize price swings, creating a digital market less prone to the wild volatility that defines much of crypto.
The Slow March Toward Currency Status
$XRP already ticks two of the three boxes of money: it is a store of value and a medium of exchange. The missing third piece, a widely accepted unit of account, could come with time and regulatory clarity. He compares the process to the U.S. dollar’s slow rise to global dominance after World War II, a transition that stretched over more than a decade before the dollar became the world’s reserve currency.
Bonds, Crises, and “New Money”
The speculation doesn’t stop there. Kimes sees a future in which the U.S. Treasury issues digital bonds tied to assets like $XRP and Bitcoin. Think of it as “wartime bonds” for a financial crisis, new instruments that create liquidity without burdening taxpayers.
This, he argues, could solve what central banks can’t simply print their way out of: a modern money problem. By tying bonds to digital reserves, governments could inject stability into a fragile system.
What It Could Mean for Price
If Ripple were ever to secure a national banking license and access to a Federal Reserve master account, its escrow could transform into something like a digital lender of last resort. Just as oil reserves are tapped during emergencies, $XRP could be released to steady global liquidity.
It’s a heady thesis, and Kimes admits it’s speculative. But the oil analogy gives investors and policymakers a fresh lens: $XRP may not just be a coin fighting for relevance. In the right framework, it could evolve into a managed global asset, its price shaped not just by markets, but by strategy.
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