Jake Claver offered his macro thesis on why XRP could eventually hit $1,000, arguing in a May 31 interview with MissCrypto that the asset could benefit from a sporadic convergence of global liquidity issues, stablecoin regulation, tokenization, and demand for real-time settlements.

Claver found that the goal seems extreme when viewed through a normal market framework. But he argued that crypto investors are looking at assets designed to support global settlement networks through the wrong lens.

I know that seems like a high price to a lot of people,” Claver said. “They look at the total market cap, the total supply and the tokenomics associated with it, but in most cases it wouldn’t be feasible, just honestly. This situation is a real storm that I think is going to blow up. I think it’s very likely at this point that it will actually play out.

The macro domino theory behind XRP

At the heart of Claver’s argument is a potential slowdown in the carry yen, which he said began showing signs of stress in August 2024. For decades, investors have borrowed cheaply from Japan and parked that capital in U.S. Treasuries, stocks, real estate, gold, silver and other global assets. He argued that if interest rates in Japan rise and U.S. rates fall, capital could return to Japanese bonds, forcing large-scale sales of U.S. Treasuries and other assets.

“So what does that look like? Well, I kind of have to go back to macroeconomics,” Claver said. “A lot of people focus narrowly on the crypto space and think it’s retail-driven. I would challenge that and say that a lot of the volume we’ve seen in the crypto industry over the last two years has been institutionally driven.”

This is where, according to Claver, crypto infrastructure becomes crucial. He said the stock and foreign exchange backend will require faster liquidity and settlement rails if a disorderly sell-off hits conventional markets.

“Crypto has a big role to play here and that is liquidity and movement for real-time settlement for the backend of the stock market and the FX market,” he said. “Because all of this will have an impact on both of those things. If there is not enough liquidity or credit that can be given to these parties, we will literally have an ICE 9 scenario.”

Claver said such a scenario would not only affect cryptocurrency prices, but a broader revaluation in global markets. “You can imagine tens of trillions of dollars being sucked out of markets around the world,” he said. “And it won’t really matter where you have the money. It could be in bonds. It could be in the stock market. It could be in gold and silver.”

Claver also linked this thesis to stablecoin legislation and treasury demand. He said the U.S. had no stablecoin law in place in 2024, but once it passes in 2025, regulated stablecoins could create domestic demand for treasuries returning to the market. He also pointed to the OCC’s expected guidance for banks issuing stablecoins, saying the regulator’s comment period ended on May 1 and guidance could come by July 18.

XRP ETFs, Tether Risk, and Settlement Demand

A central part of the thesis is Claver’s expectation that Tether could face pressure from geopolitical developments, the risk of sanctions or questions about its reserves. He noted that Tether has a enormous position in the treasury, but argued that the lack of a full audit and the presence of Bitcoin and other assets on its balance sheet left questions open.

“They have a significant position, but a large part of their balance sheet is Bitcoin and other assets,” Claver said. “They’ve never had a full audit. And why would you launch a US-compliant stablecoin if you were going to make another stablecoin you own compliant within the three years you have to do it?”

He said any liquidity disruptions at the stablecoin level could impact exchanges and Bitcoin, especially if ETF-related settlement mismatches become more prominent. Bitcoin settles on-chain in about 30 to 45 minutes, he said, while the exchange remains at T+1. He argued that if conventional markets do not move towards T+0 settlements, institutions may face pressure to adopt assets and networks better suited to real-time value transfer.

“I think we will see an onslaught of XRP ETFs and a huge rotation of liquidity towards these assets,” Claver said. “There’s not a lot of room left on exchanges at this point. The liquidity of XRP on exchanges is very low. And that would drive the price much higher, where they could then start using it to settle the backend of the exchange.”

Claver said the momentum could also facilitate “make a mockery of the currency market,” adding that XRP “solves a lot of the problems that will occur when this calm comes.”

The Transparency Act and the Limits of the Thesis

Claver identified the Transparency Act as an crucial, but not the only, trigger. He said the legislation could protect court-determined transparency of digital assets and facilitate address DeFi rules, taxes, liquidity pools, KYC and AML requirements. Still, he suggested that regulators could act faster than Congress if the OCC’s guidance gives banks a clear path to issue stablecoins.

“The Transparency Act is really more focused on clarity about what these digital assets are,” Claver said. “The other piece that I think we need is DeFi regulation in the US.”

He also admitted that XRP is not the only network focused on value transfer. Tokenization tools based on Solana, Hedera, Stellar and XRPL have been mentioned as potential elements of a broader change in market structure.

However, he argued that XRPL’s native features, including digital identity credentials, permitted domains, licensed DEX, oracles, AMM functionality and multi-functional tokens, give it a strategic advantage.

“Over time, there are a lot of things built into XRPL that I think give it a strategic advantage next to the lawsuit and the transparency that comes with the SEC lawsuit in the US,” Claver said.

Claver has repeatedly described the $1,000 XRP scenario as a theory, not a certainty. However, his broader view is clear: if macro stress forces conventional markets to settle faster, and if regulated stablecoins and tokenized assets accelerate institutional adoption, XRP could become one of the assets most directly exposed to this transformation.

At the time of publication, XRP quotes were $1.30.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com