Former Ripple Director Says You Can’t Back XRP with Gold

Former Ripple director Matt Hamilton refutes a bold community claim that XRP could be gold-backed and reach nearly $3,000 by 2026.

This came after notable XRP community figure Baron Dominus stirred a conversation on X, claiming that XRP will be “gold-backed.”

According to Dominus, this supposed backing would enable the price of XRP to reach $2,953 by Q1 2026. He even suggested a price range of $10,000 to $35,000 could be possible as part of what he called an imminent “financial shift.”

Moreover, given the market implications of his projected $35,000 per XRP, some critics say he displays a lack of mathematical reasoning.

You Can’t Back XRP with Gold

In addition, former Ripple director and developer Matt Hamilton countered the statement, focusing on the gold backing. “You can’t back XRP with gold,” he said. “Sorry.”

His reply was a reality check amid the XRP community’s tendencies to cook up various theories to argue for lofty future price ambitions for the coin.

Why Gold-Backing Is Impossible

Hamilton’s remark highlights a major technical limitation: XRP has a fixed supply capped at 100 billion coins.

Unlike fiat currencies, XRP cannot be minted on demand to match or represent a gold-backed system. It lacks the elasticity necessary to function as a gold-backed asset, where supply responds to changes in reserves or redemptions.

Moreover, XRP does not need gold to derive its value. Instead, it derives its value from continued demand, adoption, utility, ecosystem growth, and speculation.

Hamilton’s subtle reply highlights the difference between the XRP Army hype and how the XRP Ledger really works. Essentially, tying XRP to gold is just not technically feasible, much less helping its price soar.

Do Gold-Backed Cryptos Even Exist?

However, gold-backed crypto assets do exist in the crypto space, typically as a feature of stablecoins. Gold-backed cryptocurrencies offer stability and security in contrast to the volatility of typical cryptocurrencies. Similar to gold ETFs, each token represents a fixed amount of gold, redeemable for the physical asset.

In June 2024, Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, launched aUSDT, pegged to the US dollar and over-collateralized by Tether Gold (XAUT). It is backed by physical gold stored in Switzerland.

Meanwhile, in July 2025, The Crypto Basic reported that Tether stores nearly 80 metric tons of gold worth $8 billion in a private Swiss vault.

As of March 2025, gold makes up about 5% of Tether’s reserves, rivaling holdings of major financial institutions like UBS.

Notably, Tether’s gold-backed token, XAUT, boasts a valuation of $941 million with a price similar to gold at $3,818.40.