Mastercard Just Praised XRP. Here’s why

Mastercard just made one of the most significant public endorsements of XRP in recent memory. Levi Rietveld, an XRP enthusiast and creator of Crypto Crusaders, drew attention to this development in a recent video on X.

At the XRPL Commons Hackathon in New York, a Mastercard representative took the stage and praised Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin directly in front of the developers building out the ecosystem.

Rietveld stated, “Mastercard just admitted old payment rails are too slow, and live on stage in New York, they singled out Ripple and the XRP Ledger.” This was not a quiet acknowledgment buried in a press release. It happened in a room full of builders just days before Ripple’s annual Swell conference.

Mastercard Praises the XRP Ledger

Mastercard’s interest in the XRP Ledger is not accidental. The company has already partnered with Ripple and WebBank to test settling real credit card transactions on the XRP Ledger using RLUSD, Ripple’s regulated stablecoin. A company that processes trillions of dollars in transactions annually cannot afford inefficiencies.

Rietveld explained the logic: “Mastercard can’t risk using slow chains with high gas fees or buggy smart contracts.” The XRP Ledger settles transactions in 3 to 5 seconds, carries near-zero fees, and has maintained uninterrupted operation for over a decade. Those properties make it a practical choice for a payments giant operating at Mastercard’s scale.

In June, Mastercard formally announced plans to support regulated stablecoin settlements across its network, naming RLUSD among its supported assets alongside USDC and PYUSD. The on-stage praise reinforced that commitment publicly and directly.

XRP as the Engine

Rietveld stated: “Whenever Mastercard settles RLUSD payments on the XRP Ledger, XRP is going to be the fuel running the whole thing.” Every RLUSD transaction on the XRP Ledger consumes a small amount of XRP to cover network fees. At the volume Mastercard operates, that consumption adds up.

Beyond transaction fees, Rietveld pointed to XRP’s role in cross-currency settlement. The XRP Ledger uses XRP as a bridge asset to move value between different currencies quickly and at low cost. Mastercard’s integration could route significant currency exchange volume through that mechanism.

Rietveld asked a direct question to his audience: “When you see a $400 billion card giant is literally building on the XRP Ledger right in front of your very own eyes, how high do you think XRP can actually go once everyday swipes like this start taking place?”

This development signals confidence in the direction of the collaboration and in the XRP Ledger as infrastructure worth committing to publicly.