US President Donald Trump allegedly misled into endorsing XRP for a national crypto reserve due to manipulation by a lobbyist associated with Ripple Labs. Trump expressed anger upon discovering Ripple was connected to the lobbyist, raising concerns of political influence. Despite this, XRP’s value saw a minor increase following the announcement.
A recent report suggests that US President Donald Trump was misled into promoting the XRP token as part of a proposed national cryptocurrency reserve. According to Politico, an employee of lobbyist Brian Ballard, who has ties to Ripple Labs, provided Trump with a draft social media post on March 2. This post spoke of a US strategic crypto reserve that would include XRP, alongside other cryptocurrencies like Solana and Cardano. Trump later expressed his anger upon discovering that Ripple was a client of Ballard’s, feeling he had been manipulated.
Trump’s relationship with Ripple predates this incident. Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, had donated upwards of $300,000 to pro-Trump fundraising groups linked to the 2024 election. Moreover, both Alderoty and Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, met with Trump when he was president-elect and even attended his inauguration.
In addition to the personal donations, Ripple made headlines by contributing $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s inaugural fund and has been a significant supporter of the political action committee Fairshake. This PAC aims to push candidates perceived as favourable to cryptocurrencies, and it plans to carry these efforts into the upcoming midterm elections in 2026, as stated by a spokesperson earlier this year.
Following the social media post, Trump wasted no time moving forward with the idea of a crypto reserve. Just four days later, on March 6, he signed an executive order establishing a “Digital Asset Stockpile,” a significant move that appeared to align with the post he had made. This quick transition illustrated how he often uses his platform to broadcast policies before formal White House announcements.
As for XRP, despite the controversy surrounding Trump’s endorsement, the token’s value does not seem to have been heavily impacted by the revelations from the May 8 report. It traded at $2.23, having seen a 5% increase in value over the previous 24 hours. Cointelegraph attempted to reach out to Ripple for a comment regarding the situation but did not get a reply by the time this article was published. There are looming questions regarding potential conflicts of interest and insider trading related to Trump’s involvement with cryptocurrency, especially as scrutiny over these matters continues to grow.
