$1.6 Trillion Asset Manager Franklin Templeton Highlights XRP, Citing Network Use Cases and Market Structure
Franklin Templeton, a global asset manager with more than $1.6 trillion in assets under management, used a recent post on X to explain why it is leaning further into XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL), while also drawing attention to its involvement in the emerging market for spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The message, shared by Franklin Templeton and attributed to its head of digital assets, Roger Bayston, focused on the XRPL’s positioning as a blockchain network designed around payments and settlement, and the role XRP plays as its native token. The post also drew a response from Ripple’s Reece Merrick, Senior Executive Officer and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, underscoring the significance of a large traditional asset manager publicly spotlighting the XRPL ecosystem.
The development matters because it adds to a broader shift in how institutions are approaching crypto exposure. Rather than relying on direct token custody, many portfolio managers have increasingly preferred regulated, structured products such as spot ETFs, which can reduce operational and compliance friction—especially when liquidity is robust and regulatory clarity is improving.
That institutional trend has been evident in the growth of the spot XRP ETF segment. The information provided indicates that November 2025 marked a turning point: within four weeks of launch, spot XRP ETFs collectively attracted over $1 billion in assets, with more than a dozen managers competing for market share, including Franklin Templeton alongside names such as Canary and 21Shares. Elsewhere in the same context, spot XRP ETFs were described as a roughly $1.1–$1.2 billion asset class by late 2025, with steady inflows cited around $1.13 billion.
Beyond ETF flows, the post lands amid ongoing discussion about how XRP trades and how liquidity is distributed across venues. The provided data suggests that while XRP is often treated by market makers like a top-tier asset on major centralized venues, on-ledger liquidity on XRPL is comparatively modest. In the third quarter, average daily XRPL Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) volume for fungible issued currencies was about $7.9 million, with around 1 million CLOB trades and roughly 7,800 daily CLOB traders. Average daily AMM volume was about $1.7 million. The figures were presented as evidence of fragmented liquidity—deep off-chain order books and perpetuals on one side, and smaller but developing on-chain liquidity on the other, even as XRPL becomes more composable through AMMs, oracles, and planned smart-contract extensions.
The wider context around XRP also includes supply and governance considerations that institutions typically evaluate. The information provided reiterates that XRP’s full supply of 100 billion tokens was minted before launch, and that Ripple originally held a large portion and has gradually sold tokens over time. It also notes that Ripple’s monthly token unlocks are generally described as part of a managed supply mechanism rather than a surprise market event.
Finally, the Franklin Templeton post arrives at a moment when market participants are closely watching whether major networks can maintain momentum as more tokenized real-world assets move on-chain. In the same set of materials, investor Mike Novogratz is quoted raising questions about ecosystem durability, framing it in terms of whether projects like Ripple can “hold it together” as competition increases.
- What happened: Franklin Templeton publicly highlighted XRPL and XRP on X, referencing its views on the network and pointing to spot XRP ETF activity.
- Why it matters: A major traditional asset manager discussing XRP in the context of regulated products signals continued institutional engagement with crypto through ETFs.
- Broader context: Spot XRP ETFs have grown into a billion-dollar category, while XRPL’s on-ledger liquidity remains smaller than centralized markets, reflecting a split between off-chain depth and developing on-chain markets.