Ripple Brings on LME Treasury Chief to Lead Tokenization Initiatives
Ripple has brought in Joseph Thompson, a treasury executive from the London Metal Exchange, to join its trading and markets team, as reported on August 28.
Summary
- Joseph Thompson has been appointed to Ripple’s trading and markets team, where he will concentrate on tokenization strategy and execution.
- Thompson will conclude his tenure at the LME on August 31 after almost a decade at the exchange.
- His previous roles include positions in liquidity, funding, and risk management at Deutsche Bank, ICAP, and LCH respectively.
- Ripple recently introduced Delta One swaps that encompass U.S. equities, indices, and digital assets aimed at institutional clients.
- This hire does not announce any new commodity tokenization product or a market launch related to XRP.
Thompson is set to exit the LME on August 31, marking nearly ten years at the exchange. His role at Ripple will zero in on tokenization strategy and execution. Specific details regarding his title, start date, or reporting hierarchy have yet to be disclosed by Ripple.
Ripple gains insight from a major commodities exchange
Thompson currently holds the position of senior vice president and head of treasury at the LME, overseeing treasury operations at an exchange that features futures and options for industrial metals.
Previous documents from the LME identified Thompson as the head of investment, liquidity, and collateral risk management. His duties included critical areas of clearing operations, such as liquidity management, eligible collateral, and financial risk.
Before his time at the LME, Thompson was involved in liquidity management within Deutsche Bank’s group treasury division and also worked on liquidity risk at ICAP and collateral and liquidity management risk at the London Clearing House.
In addition, Thompson boasts over 15 years of experience in the financial services sector and holds a certification from the Association of Corporate Treasurers, providing Ripple with expertise across exchanges, clearing, collateral management, and institutional liquidity.
Ripple is enhancing its tokenization framework
Ripple’s commitments have extended beyond cross-border payments to include custody, stablecoins, treasury technologies, tokenized assets, and institutional trading. Their tokenization services are designed to facilitate the issuance and management of various real-world assets, including funds, bonds, and securities.
Recently, the company has invested in ZILO and Licuido, which will enhance their token issuance capabilities and collateral functionalities. Ripple described these moves as strengthening their regulated transfer agency, trading, and collateral mobility within their capital markets framework.
Thompson’s background in commodities exchanges may bolster these strategies, though Ripple has yet to announce any commodity tokenization products related to this hire, nor has it indicated that Thompson will specifically develop products for metals traded at the LME.
This recruitment confirms a strategic addition to Ripple’s tokenization efforts, rather than a formal agreement between Ripple and the LME, and does not imply that any future tokenized assets will utilize XRP.
Ripple Prime broadens its reach into traditional markets
This new appointment comes in the wake of Ripple Prime’s recent establishment of a Delta One service tailored for institutional investors. This platform enables clients to engage in total return swaps linked to U.S.-listed equities, equity indices, and digital assets.
Ripple asserts that this offering allows hedge funds and asset managers easy access through a single counterparty, enabling cross-margining of exposure across various asset classes including foreign exchange, derivatives, fixed income, equities, and digital assets.
Ripple Prime was born from the company’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, completed in October 2025. The brokerage now processes over $3 trillion in trades annually for more than 300 institutional clients, according to Ripple.
As Ripple Prime continues expanding its institutional clearing connections, it has also joined a DTCC working group focused on tokenized securities. This involvement does not automatically incorporate XRP into the DTCC’s clearing system.
The implications of Thompson’s departure from the LME
Thompson is anticipated to leave the LME on August 31 before commencing his role at Ripple. There has been no announcement regarding his replacement as treasury head at the exchange.
Ripple has yet to provide a timeline for initiatives Wrights will be involved in, and further disclosures will be needed to clarify which tokenization products, markets, or institutional clients may fall under his purview.
This hire aligns with Ripple’s aim to link its tokenized asset infrastructure with trading, financing, clearing, and collateral services. Thompson’s experience aligns well with this goal, but clarity on the commercial outcomes remains to be seen until Ripple identifies specific products.