XRP and the IMF: What the Tokenization Paper Says on Page 7

For years, XRP holders have shared a 2018 post by author Jim Rickards that ends with four words: “More likely, it’s an eSDR.” Many read it as a hint that XRP could become part of the International Monetary Fund’s world money. A new Bullrunners video goes back to the full post, and to a July IMF note that names the XRP Ledger in writing on page 7.

The video frames the question as “vault or pipes.” Is XRP likely to be held as a reserve asset, or used as infrastructure that moves money between currencies? The answer matters for how holders think about waiting, and what they do with their coins in the meantime.

What did Jim Rickards actually say about XRP?

Rickards said XRP would not be a reserve asset, and the eSDR line came after that. According to the video, on October 17, 2018, Rickards, a New York Times best-selling author known for Currency Wars, replied to a rumor on X. His full post, as read in the video:

People are saying it’s not my idea of a reliable source. That said, even the IMF needs devs, and I’m sure Ripple has some good ones. That doesn’t mean XRP will be a reserve asset. More likely, it’s an eSDR.

The host points out that most people quote only the final sentence. The sentence before it says XRP won’t go “in the vault.” What Rickards offers instead is an electronic version of the IMF’s own reserve asset.

Rickards repeated the idea on camera in an interview on April 8. Asked about reports of Iran charging ships a toll through the Strait of Hormuz paid in crypto, he said the payment could be Bitcoin, Tether or Ripple, but added: “It’s a payment currency. Yes. But there’s no bond market. It’s not a reserve.” The video stresses that he did not say Iran is using Ripple, only that it could be one option.

Eight years apart, Rickards put Ripple in the same lane twice: a way to pay, not a reserve.

What is an SDR, and can you hold one?

A special drawing right (SDR) is the IMF’s own reserve asset, and ordinary people cannot hold it. The IMF created the SDR in 1969. The video describes it as a blend of five currencies: the US dollar, the euro, the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen and the British pound. Governments keep SDRs in their reserves, the savings they draw on in a crisis.

The IMF material quoted in the video says SDRs are not a currency and not a claim on the IMF, but an international reserve asset that can be exchanged for reserve currencies. Only these parties can hold them:

• the IMF itself
• its member countries
• certain prescribed holders, such as regional central banks, intergovernmental monetary institutions and some development banks

Individuals and companies are excluded. That is why, in the video’s view, Rickards’ line matters: if no retail holder can ever own an SDR, the only part of this story that could touch their coins is the payments side.

How the IMF creates world money

The IMF issues SDRs by a vote of its members, and the largest batch came in August 2021. According to the video, that allocation totaled about $650 billion. It was shared out in proportion to each country’s quota at the fund, with advanced economies receiving about 58% and emerging and developing economies about 42%.

The video also uses history to show how slowly this system moves. At the G20 in London in 2009, then UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced $1 trillion in additional resources through the IMF and other institutions, including $250 billion in SDRs. The record allocation did not come until 2021, and the SDR itself dates to 1969.

Year	Event described in the video
1969	IMF creates the SDR
2009	G20 in London announces $250 billion in SDRs as part of $1 trillion in resources
2018	Rickards’ post on X; Christine Lagarde names Ripple in a Singapore speech
2021	IMF approves its largest SDR allocation, about $650 billion
July (recent)	IMF note “The Rise of Tokenization” lists the XRP Ledger on page 7

Did the head of the IMF mention Ripple?

Yes. Four weeks after Rickards’ post, then IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde spoke at the Singapore Fintech Festival. In the clip shown in the video, she said cryptocurrencies “such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are vying for a spot in the cashless world,” seeking “more stable value and quicker and cheaper settlement.”

The host’s reading is that she was describing settlement, meaning moving money faster and cheaper. That fits the “pipes” version of the story rather than the “vault” version.

What is on page 7 of the IMF’s tokenization paper?

Page 7 lists the XRP Ledger as one of the networks a major French bank’s euro stablecoin runs on. The note, titled “The Rise of Tokenization,” was published in July and written by three IMF staff members, according to the video. Tokenization means putting money and assets onto digital ledgers.

On page 7, the note describes a euro-denominated stablecoin from Societe Generale, which the video calls one of France’s biggest banks, issued on Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and the XRP Ledger. A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold the value of a currency such as the euro or dollar. The video says the bank’s crypto arm launched it on the XRP Ledger in February.

The host is clear about the limits: this is not the IMF endorsing XRP. It is the IMF listing the XRP Ledger as a network a large bank already uses. Readers can check it themselves by searching “IMF rise of tokenization” and turning to page 7.

The note’s closing lines, as quoted in the video, say tokenization “can make financial markets faster and cheaper” by reducing the role of intermediaries, and that governments “may take a more active role in the future of tokenization.”

Vault or pipes: the case for and against

The video lays out both sides. Against the “vault” version:

• No central bank has said it will back its currency with XRP.
• Rickards himself said XRP would not be a reserve asset.
• SDRs are closed to individuals in any case.

For the “pipes” version:

• An SDR is not a currency, so something has to move the underlying money.
• Lagarde described crypto, including Ripple, as competing on settlement speed and cost.
• Ripple’s CTO Emeritus David Schwartz posted last July that XRP’s use as a bridge in Ripple Payments “dwarfs every other asset.” A bridge asset lets a payment go in as one currency, cross on XRP, and come out as another.
• The IMF’s own note now names the XRP Ledger as a rail a large bank uses.

The host’s own view is that hanging a whole position on Rickards’ last four words reads him backwards, but that there is a real chance the payments version plays out. He adds that it may take longer than people want. That is the video’s opinion, not a forecast of price.

Three decisions the video leaves XRP holders

The video ends with three questions it says every holder should answer before the next headline, rather than on the day a post goes viral:

1. Who holds the keys to your XRP? You, or an app or exchange.
2. What is it doing while you wait? Open the app or wallet where your XRP sits and look for a line such as “earned rewards” or “interest.” If there is none, the coins have been idle. If there is one, check who is paying it and on what terms.
3. What would make you act? Decide in advance what would cause you to add, reduce or move your position.

On the second point, the video cites BlockFi, whose customers were earning interest in the app until November 10, 2022, when it paused withdrawals. Earning a yield inside someone else’s app carries the risk that the app can stop you from moving your coins.

What to watch next

The next event the video highlights is the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, starting October 12. Every new IMF paper on tokenization is worth checking for references to the XRP Ledger, and to how the fund describes it.

It is also worth reading primary sources in full. Rickards’ 2018 post and the IMF note are both short enough to read in a few minutes, and in both cases the full text says something more limited than the version usually shared online.