Bill Morgan: XRP's Complementary Role Wasn't the 2018 Vision

$XRP advocate Bill Morgan has suggested that the role envisioned for $XRP within Ripple's ecosystem is evolving. His comments followed the launch of Ripple USD ( $RLUSD ) on the $XRP Ledger EVM Sidechain. Specifically, Morgan responded to an announcement from RippleX that $RLUSD is now live on the XRPL EVM Sidechain. The move marks another step in the stablecoin's multichain expansion strategy. According to RippleX, the integration allows developers to build with familiar Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) tools while remaining connected to the $XRP Ledger. The company said $RLUSD's growing adoption across smart contract ecosystems reflects rising demand for regulated stablecoins in decentralized finance and multichain financial applications.

Key Points

• Bill Morgan says $XRP's role within Ripple's ecosystem appears to be evolving as $RLUSD expands across networks.
• RippleX stated $XRP will increasingly serve as a complementary asset for liquidity, settlement, and payments.
• Morgan contrasted this with the 2018 vision held by some supporters that $XRP would become the dominant bridge asset.
• Despite $RLUSD's growth, Morgan stressed Ripple still needs $XRP, but not necessarily for every use case.

$XRP as a Complementary Asset RippleX said that as $RLUSD expands across supported blockchain networks, $XRP can increasingly serve as a complementary asset for liquidity, settlement, swaps, collateral, and payments. The statement prompted a reaction from Morgan, who compared the current messaging to narratives that were popular among some $XRP supporters several years ago. "$XRP to increasingly serve as a complementary asset? Not quite the vision back in 2018 when the train left the station," Morgan wrote.

"All the Money" Narrative One community member asked Morgan what the vision was back in 2018 and whether $XRP was expected to serve as the only asset within the ecosystem. Morgan replied that, for some supporters, the vision was "all the money." The phrase refers to long-standing expectations that $XRP would become the dominant bridge asset for global value transfers. Another user asked whether Ripple's growing focus on $RLUSD suggests the company no longer needs $XRP. Morgan rejected that interpretation. He clarified that his comments were not meant to suggest $XRP had become unnecessary.

Nothing in my post suggests that I hold the view that Ripple does not need $XRP. It just does not need it for everything. — bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) June 4, 2026

Morgan Clarifies His Position After another commenter suggested he had misunderstood $XRP's original vision, Morgan reiterated that he was comparing RippleX's latest description of $XRP's role with narratives promoted by some community members over the years. He stressed that his observation was about changing expectations, not his own understanding of $XRP's utility. Morgan said he was referring to the "all the money" narrative that many supporters promoted years ago, which envisioned $XRP handling most global monetary flows.

Meanwhile, the current reality is somewhat less grandiose. Ripple continues to expand $RLUSD across multiple blockchain networks, while $XRP settles into a complementary asset role rather than a dominant one.