Financial educator and wealth mentor Linda Jones has suggested that a significantly higher XRP price could help in safeguarding global financial stability in the future.

Jones shared this perspective in the latest edition of her Be Wealthy and Smart podcast, where she described Ripple’s acquisition of brokerage firm Hidden Road as a “game-changer” for global finance.

High XRP Value Could Provide “Deep Pockets” in Future Crises

Speaking on the $1.25 billion deal, Jones remarked that if XRP’s price increases substantially, it could provide “very deep pockets” in the event of systemic financial problems. She noted that these challenges currently fall on the shoulders of taxpayers.

In other words, a higher XRP valuation could equip Ripple with the financial strength to act as a stabilizing force during a financial crisis. With this, they could potentially reduce the need for government bailouts.

Notably, Ripple remains the largest holder of XRP, with a reserve of 41.64 billion tokens. At XRP’s current price of $2 per coin, Ripple holds XRP assets valued at over $83 billion. 

In a hypothetical scenario where XRP rises to $100 per coin—as some in the community have predicted—Ripple’s holdings would be worth over a massive $4.1 trillion.

Essentially, this financial war chest, as Jones suggests, could enable Ripple to help mitigate financial crises without burdening U.S. taxpayers.

This bold proposition comes from systemic vulnerabilities in the financial sector, especially those exposed by the collapse of Archegos Capital Management in 2021.

Why the Hidden Road Acquisition Matters

During the podcast, Jones explained that the Hidden Road acquisition represents more than just a major development in the crypto scene. According to her, it marks a structural shift. 

In particular, Ripple’s move into prime brokerage services positions the company to offer tokenized securities solutions outside the traditional banking system.

“This provides prime brokerage services outside the banking system,” she said. “It eliminates banks as prime brokers.”

According to Jones, integrating Hidden Road’s infrastructure with the XRP Ledger enables end-to-end, near-instantaneous trade settlements. Notably, the current system often involves multi-day delays.

Furthermore, she emphasized that the new settlement system powered by XRPL could significantly reduce opportunities for fraud and leverage abuse, as seen in the Archegos scandal.

Lessons from Archegos

Referencing the Archegos collapse, Jones revisited how a lack of transparency, excessive leverage, and poor coordination among prime brokers led to over $10 billion in losses across major banks.

She cited an AI summary by Grok, which summarized the event. It highlighted major issues such as delayed margin calls, weak oversight, and fragmented risk management. For the uninitiated, Archegos defaulted on multiple margin calls from banks due to lack of liquidity, leading to its collapse amid massive losses and over-leveraged positions.

Jones believes Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road directly addresses many of these systemic flaws by introducing a more transparent, blockchain-verified financial infrastructure.

Ultimately, Jones compared the current financial system to those that caused the 2008 financial crisis and argued that Ripple’s model could offer a more sustainable alternative.

“There is a better way, and this acquisition paves the path for it,” she said.