Headline: Ripple taps London Metal Exchange treasury chief Joseph Thompson to accelerate tokenization push Ripple has recruited Joseph Thompson, the London Metal Exchange’s long-serving treasury head, to join its trading and markets team in a hire aimed squarely at expanding the company’s tokenization capabilities, according to an Aug. 28 report. Thompson — currently senior vice president and head of treasury at the LME — will depart the exchange on Aug. 31 after nearly a decade there. Ripple has said his role will focus on tokenization strategy and delivery but has not disclosed Thompson’s exact title, start date or reporting line. Why this hire matters Thompson brings more than 15 years of institutional finance experience across exchanges, clearinghouses and bank treasuries. At the LME he managed treasury operations and previously held responsibilities described in exchange documents as head of investment, liquidity and collateral risk management — areas that intersect closely with clearing, eligible collateral and financial-risk frameworks. Before the LME, Thompson worked on liquidity management and funding at Deutsche Bank’s group treasury, handled liquidity risk at ICAP, and managed collateral and liquidity risk at the London Clearing House (LCH). He also holds certification from the Association of Corporate Treasurers. How it fits into Ripple’s roadmap Ripple has been broadening its business beyond cross-border payments into custody, stablecoins, treasury technology, tokenized assets and institutional trading. Its tokenization arm supports issuance and management of funds, bonds, securities and other real-world assets (RWAs). Recent investments in token-issuance and collateral-tool providers ZILO and Licuido indicate a push to build regulated transfer-agency, trading and collateral mobility into its capital-markets infrastructure. Thompson’s experience at a major commodities exchange and across clearing and collateral functions aligns with that direction, potentially helping Ripple link tokenized-asset infrastructure to trading, financing, clearing and liquidity operations. However, Ripple has not announced any commodity-specific tokenization products tied to this hire, nor any formal partnership with the LME. The appointment therefore represents a personnel investment in Ripple’s tokenization effort — not a corporate agreement with the exchange — and does not imply future tokenized assets will use XRP. Institutional context: Ripple Prime and market plumbing The hire follows expansion of Ripple Prime, Ripple’s institutional arm, which recently launched a Delta One business offering total-return swaps on U.S.-listed equities, indices and digital assets. Ripple says the service gives hedge funds and asset managers single-counterparty access and the ability to cross-margin exposure across FX, derivatives, fixed income, equities and digital assets. Ripple Prime traces to Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, which closed in October 2025, and the brokerage now reportedly clears more than $3 trillion in annual trades for 300+ institutional clients. As Prime has grown, it also joined a DTCC working group focused on tokenized securities — a participation Ripple stresses does not place XRP inside DTCC clearing systems. What remains unknown Neither Ripple nor the LME have announced who will replace Thompson at the exchange, and Ripple hasn’t published a timetable or named specific projects, markets or institutional clients Thompson will cover. Additional disclosures will be required to establish which tokenization products, asset classes or commercial partnerships stem from the hire. Bottom line The addition of an experienced treasury and liquidity executive from a major commodities exchange underscores Ripple’s strategic emphasis on building end-to-end tokenization infrastructure tied to trading, clearing and collateral services. The hire strengthens Ripple’s bench for institutional tokenization, but concrete product outcomes and market linkages remain to be revealed. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news