Fireside: Ripple Labs' Luke Judges, Solana Foundation (Vibhu Norby)

In one of the most talked-about announcements at Breakpoint 2025, XRP—the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger—is officially coming to Solana. The news, which topped Twitter engagement charts for days, signals a major shift in how two of crypto's largest and most passionate communities could soon interact and build together.

Summary

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The announcement represents a significant interoperability push from Ripple Labs through their RippleX business unit. While Ripple Labs itself isn't directly issuing the asset, they're supporting ecosystem partners HexTrust and LayerZero in bringing wrapped XRP to the Solana blockchain. This marks a departure from XRP Ledger's historical approach of operating as a relatively isolated technology stack for the past decade.

Luke Judges, who leads the partner success team for RippleX, emphasized that this move is part of a broader strategy to make XRP available everywhere. The company has already partnered with major interoperability protocols including Wormhole, Axelar, and LayerZero to facilitate cross-chain movement of XRP. Solana, however, appears to be a priority destination given its massive user base and thriving DeFi ecosystem.

Vibhu Norby from the Solana Foundation noted that despite surface-level differences, the XRP and Solana communities share more common ground than most realize, with deep storylines and histories that make this partnership particularly compelling. The goal is to enable XRP holders to access Solana's DeFi infrastructure, including lending markets and yield-generating opportunities.

Key Points

Why Solana Was Chosen

Judges outlined three primary factors that made Solana an attractive destination for wrapped XRP: users, demand, and market depth. Solana's wallet ecosystem, particularly Phantom with its approximately 20 million active wallets, provides immediate access to a massive user base. This represents a significant expansion opportunity for XRP holders who want to utilize their assets in new ways.

The financial primitives on Solana—including prediction markets, lending protocols, and other DeFi applications—offer new utility for XRP that doesn't exist on its native chain in the same form. Additionally, the market depth provided by Solana-native tokens creates complementary trading pairs and liquidity opportunities that could benefit XRP's broader adoption and utility.

Ripple's Interoperability Strategy

After operating as what Judges described as "an island" for approximately a decade, the XRP Ledger is now heavily investing in interoperability. This strategic pivot acknowledges that widespread adoption requires presence across multiple ecosystems rather than isolation on a single chain.

The analogy Judges used is powerful: just as the US dollar wouldn't be the global reserve currency if it could only be purchased in America, XRP's path to broader adoption requires distribution across multiple blockchain "countries." Solana represents an ideal starting point for this expansion given its developer activity and user engagement.

Opportunities for Developers

Both speakers emphasized the opportunity this creates for Solana developers. Judges actively encouraged builders in attendance to create utility for XRP on Solana, pointing out that combining XRP's vocal global holder base with Solana's development ecosystem could create a "formidable force."

This represents functionality that traditional finance could never achieve—true interoperability across systems. The wrapped XRP on Solana will be able to participate in the full range of Solana DeFi protocols, opening up use cases from yield farming to collateralized lending that weren't previously accessible to XRP holders.

The Broader Vision

Looking ahead, Ripple's RippleX team made clear this is just the beginning. The goal is to see XRP available "everywhere to everyone," suggesting that additional blockchain integrations are planned. The partnerships with Wormhole, Axelar, and LayerZero provide the technical infrastructure for XRP to move across numerous crypto ecosystems.

This expansion strategy positions XRP not just as an asset for the XRP Ledger but as a cross-chain digital asset that can participate in the broader DeFi economy regardless of which blockchain a user prefers to use.

Facts + Figures

• HexTrust and LayerZero are issuing wrapped XRP onto Solana blockchain
• Phantom wallet has approximately 20 million active wallets that can now access XRP
• XRP Ledger has operated as an isolated technology stack for approximately a decade
• RippleX has partnered with Wormhole, Axelar, and LayerZero for interoperability
• This announcement achieved number one engagement on Twitter
• The wrapped XRP will enable access to Solana DeFi, lending markets, and yield opportunities
• Solana developers are being encouraged to build utility for XRP on the network

Top Quotes

• "The US dollar would not be the global reserve currency if you can only buy it in America and the United States. And so I think it's very interesting if we distribute XRP into other blockchains and you think of them as other countries."

• "The XRP ledger as a technology stack has been an island for about a decade. We are now heavily leaning into interoperability."

• "We want to see XRP available everywhere to everyone."

• "I really encourage the Solana developers here today to build utility for XRP on Solana. I think that's a pretty interesting dynamic."

• "There's millions of XRP holders across the globe. They are vocal. And I think that kind of demographic of people matched with the extreme number of Solana developers that are interested in building utility—I think that can be a pretty formidable force."

• "It's something that traditional finance is not ever gonna do. The interoperability doesn't work."

Questions Answered

What exactly was announced regarding XRP and Solana?

HexTrust and LayerZero have announced they are issuing wrapped XRP onto the Solana blockchain. Ripple Labs through their RippleX business unit is supporting these ecosystem partners in making this happen, though Ripple itself isn't directly issuing the wrapped asset. This enables XRP holders to use their assets within Solana's DeFi ecosystem for the first time.

Why did Ripple choose Solana for XRP interoperability?

Ripple identified three key factors making Solana attractive: new users through platforms like Phantom's 20 million active wallets, new demand through Solana's financial primitives and applications like prediction markets, and market depth from Solana-native tokens that can pair with XRP. The combination of Solana's large developer community and XRP's passionate holder base was seen as particularly powerful.

What can XRP holders do with wrapped XRP on Solana?

Once wrapped XRP is available on Solana, holders can access the full range of DeFi applications on the network. This includes participating in lending markets to earn yield, using XRP as collateral, trading on decentralized exchanges, and engaging with prediction markets and other specialized applications that don't exist on the XRP Ledger.

Is this a one-time partnership or part of a larger strategy?

This is part of Ripple's broader interoperability strategy. After operating as an isolated chain for approximately a decade, Ripple is now actively partnering with major bridge protocols including Wormhole, Axelar, and LayerZero to enable XRP movement across multiple blockchain ecosystems. Solana is the starting point, but more integrations are expected.

What opportunities does this create for Solana developers?

Solana developers now have the opportunity to build new applications and utility specifically for XRP on their preferred chain. Given XRP's large and vocal global holder base combined with Solana's technical capabilities, there's potential to create use cases that neither traditional finance nor the XRP Ledger alone could support. Developers are being actively encouraged to explore these possibilities.