Michael Arrington, founder of Arrington Capital, stated that if Ripple can remain focused on its mission and execute effectively, the value of the XRP ecosystem will be "unlimited." He believes that Ripple's infrastructure development is a long-term bet on institutional-grade crypto channels, rather than a short-term market narrative.
In an interview series on the Ripple on-chain economy released on April 20, Arrington pointed out that Ripple and XRP have been "completely misunderstood" over the past decade. He believes that the company's recent advancements in stablecoins, prime brokerage business, acquisitions, and product development will attract more startups and institutional participants to its ecosystem.
He directly linked this view to Ripple's increasingly prominent role as an infrastructure provider. Arrington stated that much of Ripple's work around XRP, particularly stablecoins, will inevitably attract more startups to build on this ecosystem. He said his capital will be invested in this evolution.
The significance of this framework is that Arrington does not primarily view XRP as a speculative asset. He described Ripple's strategy as building foundational market structures for crypto companies and institutions that still lack traditional financial tools. He noted that hedge funds in the digital asset space require more robust infrastructure, not only for compliance but also for basic market functions, custody, and execution.
He cited Ripple's acquisition of Hidden Road (later renamed Ripple Prime) as a specific example. Arrington stated that this is essentially a prime brokerage business, which is common in the real world but has never had excellent service providers in the crypto space. He believes this will become a huge business and a pillar of Ripple and XRP's future, as the current market demand for such infrastructure is extremely urgent.
Arrington also recalled the 2017 ICO boom, stating that the market was flooded with numerous projects at the time, but many ultimately failed. He said that period prompted him to transition full-time from traditional Silicon Valley venture capital to the crypto space and to first buy XRP when its price was between 3 and 5 cents. He believes history will prove that XRP and Ripple are foundational components of the crypto ecosystem.
He emphasized that public perception lags behind Ripple's actual development. Critics often label XRP as a "corporate coin" or "bank coin," but Arrington believes that Ripple is a mission-driven company that has maintained high consistency over the long term. If it can continue to focus on its mission and execute, the value of the entire ecosystem will be limitless. As of press time, XRP is trading at $1.44.