Who Actually Uses XRP?
- Info Stats
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
An investigation into the BIS, the XRP Ledger, tokenisation and the future of institutional finance
There has been a growing amount of discussion within the XRP community about the relationship between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and XRP.
Some of the claims circulating online are undoubtedly exaggerated. However, recent developments deserve considerably more attention than they have received.
The most significant finding is straightforward:
BIS researchers have actually built and tested a working proof-of-concept on the XRP Ledger.
That is not an XRP influencer's interpretation. It is documented in an official BIS publication and accompanied by open-source implementation material.
But what does this actually mean?
Does it mean BIS has selected XRP as a global settlement asset?
No.
Does it mean XRP is about to replace SWIFT?
There is currently no evidence for that.
What it does demonstrate is potentially more interesting: the XRP Ledger has entered the sphere of serious institutional experimentation by one of the world's most influential financial organisations.
The BIS and the XRP Ledger
On 2 September 2026, the BIS published Working Paper 1374, “Verifiable official statistics: a blockchain-based approach.”
The paper examines how official statistical information could be made independently verifiable using blockchain technology.
The important detail is that the proof-of-concept was implemented using the XRP Ledger.
The system takes official statistical information, generates a cryptographic fingerprint of the data and records that fingerprint on the ledger.
The underlying data does not need to be stored on-chain.
Instead, the blockchain effectively provides a publicly verifiable record that can answer questions such as:
Has this dataset been altered?
When was it published?
Can its authenticity be independently verified?
Can the publisher's identity be associated with the published record?
This is a fundamentally different proposition from simply storing information on a blockchain.
It is about creating a trusted, independently verifiable digital record.
This wasn't just a theoretical paper
Perhaps the most interesting part of the research is that BIS didn't stop at describing a possible architecture.
BIS researchers produced an implementation.
The associated open-source repository demonstrates software capable of interacting with the XRP Ledger, including creating transactions and recording cryptographic commitments.
The project is published through the BIS Monetary and Economic Department's technical GitHub organisation.
That matters.
There is a substantial difference between:
“BIS researchers discussed whether blockchain might be useful.”
and:
“BIS researchers built software that interacts with XRPL and demonstrated the concept.”
The latter is what happened.
How does the system work?
At a simplified level, the architecture looks something like this:
Official statistical dataset
↓
Cryptographic hash
↓
Merkle tree
↓
Merkle root
↓
XRPL transaction
↓
Independent verification
The blockchain doesn't need to contain the complete dataset.
Instead, it contains evidence that a particular version of the dataset existed in a particular form.
If somebody subsequently changes the data, its cryptographic fingerprint changes and the alteration can be detected.
This has potential applications far beyond statistics.
The same basic concept could potentially be applied to:
financial reporting;
regulatory information;
certificates;
supply chains;
asset records;
audit trails;
institutional data;
digital credentials.
The BIS experiment therefore shouldn't simply be viewed as an “XRP experiment”.
It is better understood as an institutional experiment involving XRPL technology.
Why XRPL?
This is where the research becomes particularly interesting.
The XRP Ledger has characteristics that make it attractive for applications requiring rapid and inexpensive transactions.
The BIS proof-of-concept demonstrated publication and verification processes operating within seconds.
The experiment also benefited from the relatively simple transaction model required for recording cryptographic commitments.
But there is an important caveat.
The system was tested on XRPL DevNet.
It was a proof-of-concept rather than a production BIS deployment.
The associated repository itself makes clear that the software is experimental.
Therefore, the correct conclusion is:
BIS demonstrated that XRPL can perform this institutional function.
Not:
BIS has deployed XRPL as part of its global financial infrastructure.
That distinction is essential.
The bigger picture: BIS and tokenisation
The XRPL experiment becomes much more interesting when it is placed within the broader direction of BIS research.
Over recent years, BIS has been heavily involved in exploring:
distributed ledger technology;
tokenised assets;
central-bank digital money;
commercial-bank deposits;
programmable payments;
cross-border settlement;
interoperability;
atomic settlement.
One of the most significant current initiatives is Project Agorá.
Agorá brings together BIS, central banks and more than 40 private financial institutions to investigate how tokenised commercial-bank deposits and tokenised central-bank money could operate on a shared programmable infrastructure.
This is arguably the more important development when considering the future of global finance.
The financial system is increasingly moving towards the idea that assets and money can exist in programmable digital form.
That could eventually mean:
Tokenised deposits
Tokenised central-bank money
Tokenised securities
Programmable settlement
Interoperability
But Agorá does not use XRP
This is where the XRP narrative needs to remain grounded in reality.
Project Agorá is not an XRP project.
Its settlement architecture focuses on tokenised central-bank reserves and tokenised commercial-bank deposits.
There is currently no evidence that BIS has selected XRP as the settlement asset for Agorá.
Therefore, anyone claiming that Agorá proves XRP is going to become the world's reserve settlement currency is going beyond the available evidence.
However, there is another possibility.
Perhaps the future financial system won't consist of one giant blockchain.
Perhaps it will consist of many different networks that need to communicate with each other.
And this is where BIS research into interoperability becomes particularly relevant.
The interoperability question
Projects such as Meridian and Meridian FX have explored ways of connecting different payment systems and distributed ledgers.
The objective isn't necessarily to replace every existing financial infrastructure.
It is to allow different systems to interact and settle transactions in a coordinated way.
This creates a potentially important distinction.
The future might not look like:
One blockchain replaces everything.
It could instead look like:
Bank A's network
↕
Interoperability layer
↕
Bank B's network
↕
Central-bank infrastructure
↕
Tokenised asset networks
In such an environment, networks that are fast, inexpensive and capable of supporting tokenised assets could become increasingly important.
And XRPL is now demonstrably one of the networks that has been tested in an institutional context.
XRPL and XRP are not the same thing
This is probably the most important distinction investors need to understand.
XRPL is the network.
XRP is the native digital asset of that network.
A BIS researcher using XRPL does not automatically mean BIS is using XRP as a bridge currency.
In the BIS proof-of-concept, the ledger is being used primarily as a cryptographic verification mechanism.
The transaction requirements are tiny compared with the amounts involved in global payments.
Therefore, the experiment by itself does not create enormous demand for XRP.
The bullish argument needs another step.
Where XRP could potentially enter the equation
Imagine a future in which XRPL is used for significantly more than data verification.
For example:
tokenised securities;
stablecoins;
institutional payments;
foreign-exchange settlement;
tokenised deposits;
real-world assets;
cross-border liquidity;
programmable financial contracts.
At that point, XRP's role becomes much more interesting.
If XRP were used as a bridge or liquidity asset between different currencies and tokenised financial networks, increased institutional activity could potentially create significant demand.
But that remains a future possibility, not an established BIS policy.
The six questions that matter now
Rather than asking whether BIS has “chosen XRP”, investors should be watching six much more useful questions.
1. Will BIS conduct further experiments involving XRPL?
One proof-of-concept is interesting.
Multiple independent experiments would be considerably more significant.
2. Will XRPL appear in tokenisation projects?
This would move the discussion from data verification towards financial infrastructure.
3. Will institutional stablecoins operate on XRPL?
This could provide a bridge between the XRPL ecosystem and tokenised financial markets.
4. Will XRP itself be used for institutional liquidity?
This is perhaps the single most important unanswered question.
Using XRPL does not automatically mean using XRP.
5. Will central banks independently experiment with XRPL?
Independent central-bank adoption would be considerably stronger evidence than a single BIS research project.
6. Will major financial infrastructure organisations integrate XRPL?
Organisations such as major securities settlement, payment and financial-market infrastructure providers would provide a significant signal if they began integrating XRPL.
So what does the evidence actually prove?
At the moment, the evidence supports several conclusions.
Confirmed
BIS researchers have built a working XRPL proof-of-concept.
The implementation is publicly available.
XRPL was selected as the ledger for the experiment.
The system demonstrated rapid verification and publication.
BIS is heavily researching DLT and tokenisation.
BIS is actively investigating interoperability between financial infrastructures.
Plausible
XRPL could be considered for additional institutional experiments.
XRPL could potentially form part of future tokenised financial infrastructure.
The increasing institutionalisation of DLT could create additional opportunities for XRPL.
Not yet proven
BIS has selected XRP as a settlement asset.
BIS intends to use XRP for global cross-border payments.
XRP will replace SWIFT.
Central banks will be required to hold XRP.
XRP will inevitably reach $100, $500 or $1,000.
Those claims require evidence that currently does not exist.
The investment question
For XRP investors, this distinction is critical.
There are really two separate investment theses.
Thesis 1: XRP becomes a global bridge asset
This requires banks and financial institutions to actually use XRP for liquidity and settlement.
If that happens at scale, the implications could be enormous.
But the evidence is currently incomplete.
Thesis 2: XRPL becomes institutional infrastructure
This is already beginning to look more credible.
BIS has demonstrated that XRPL can perform an institutional function.
The wider financial system is moving towards tokenisation, programmability and interoperability.
And those trends potentially create an environment in which public blockchain infrastructure could become increasingly important.
The second thesis therefore deserves serious attention even if the first remains speculative.
The significance of the BIS experiment
The biggest mistake would be to dismiss the development because BIS isn't currently using XRP for cross-border settlement.
The significance may lie elsewhere.
For years, the XRP community has argued that XRPL could be suitable for institutional financial infrastructure.
We now have something much more valuable than an online prediction:
An international financial institution actually tested it.
That doesn't prove adoption.
But it does move the argument from:
“Could XRPL theoretically do this?”
to:
“XRPL has now been demonstrated in an institutional proof-of-concept.”
That is a meaningful change.
The bigger question
Perhaps the most interesting question isn't:
“Is BIS going to use XRP?”
It is:
“As the global financial system becomes tokenised and increasingly interoperable, which blockchain networks will become trusted infrastructure?”
If the answer eventually includes XRPL, the consequences for the XRP ecosystem could be substantial.
But investors should wait for evidence that connects the network to real financial value and real XRP demand.
The next pieces of evidence to watch are therefore not social-media rumours.
They are:
BIS
→ central banks
→ tokenisation
→ interoperability
→ institutional adoption
→ XRPL
→ actual XRP liquidity demand
If those links begin appearing independently, the XRP investment thesis becomes considerably stronger.
For now, the evidence tells us something simpler — but still significant:
BIS has not announced that XRP is the future of global settlement. But BIS researchers have independently demonstrated that the XRP Ledger can perform an institutional blockchain function, at the same time that BIS is accelerating its work on tokenisation, programmable money and interoperable financial infrastructure.
That is not proof of the XRP moonshot.
But it is absolutely something worth watching.
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