Newly revisited documents and statements highlight Ripple’s original intent for XRP—to serve as a highly liquid digital asset capable of solving global banking liquidity challenges.
According to materials shared by crypto researcher SMQKE, former Ripple Chief Technology Officer Stefan Thomas once explained that banks could effectively “teleport” value between vaults anywhere in the world using XRP, referencing its near-instant settlement capabilities. This vision dates back to Ripple’s early years, when the company positioned XRP not merely as a cryptocurrency but as an institutional tool for financial efficiency.
A 2013 marketing brochure described XRP as “like gold in your hands,” emphasizing its design as the most liquid asset on the XRP Ledger. The material underscored that XRP’s function was to operate as a bridge asset—one that could facilitate value transfer without the delays and costs of traditional correspondent banking systems.
These early descriptions reveal that Ripple’s broader mission extended beyond remittances or retail transactions, focusing instead on transforming interbank liquidity management.
‼️REMEMBER: XRP IS THE REAL DIGITAL GOLD FOR BANKS ‼️
• Former Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas: “Banks will have GOLD that you can teleport into any vault in the world instantly” using XRP 🔑
• 2013 XRP Marketing Brochure: described XRP as “like GOLD in your hands” designed to be… pic.twitter.com/9UdSJ0dDNL
— SMQKE (@SMQKEDQG) November 10, 2025
The “Teleporting Gold” framework
The document titled “Teleporting Gold” expands on how XRP was envisioned to address liquidity inefficiencies within the banking system, particularly under the regulatory environment introduced by Basel III.
Banks are required to hold significant reserves of high-quality liquid assets to manage settlement obligations, resulting in billions of dollars of dormant capital tied up in the global financial system.
The document explains that XRP’s role would be to free this trapped liquidity by allowing banks to convert idle reserves into a tradable digital asset that can move instantly across borders.
The underlying concept is straightforward: when a bank needs to send funds abroad, rather than relying on pre-funded accounts or correspondent networks, it could use XRP as a real-time bridge asset. The document describes this as a shift from traditional liquidity models to one where liquidity is available on demand, supported by an active and deep market.
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Ripple’s broader “big idea” was that, once XRP’s market capitalization and trading volume reached sufficient scale, it could offer banks instant access to global liquidity without maintaining massive cash reserves abroad.
Technical foundation and conditions for adoption
The materials also reference XRP’s technical attributes that support this use case—its speed, low transaction costs, and the efficiency of the XRP Ledger.
Each transaction consumes only a fraction of an XRP token, preventing network congestion while maintaining transaction integrity. Its design as a pre-mined asset with a fixed supply eliminates counterparty risk. This ensures that value can be transferred directly between participants without intermediaries.
However, the same documents acknowledge that institutional adoption depends on liquidity depth, regulatory clarity, and widespread market participation. The vision outlined requires XRP to achieve sustained market maturity to handle institutional volumes efficiently.
SMQKE’s post brings renewed attention to Ripple’s foundational design for XRP—a digital asset engineered to serve as the world’s most liquid bridge for financial institutions. The “Teleporting Gold” framework and supporting statements from Ripple’s early leadership reflect a consistent strategy: positioning XRP as the real digital gold for banks, capable of unlocking on-demand liquidity across the global financial system.
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