Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is using an $11 billion central-bank gold relocation to argue that traditional finance still moves value through surprisingly slow infrastructure.
De Nederlandsche Bank recently relocated about 86 tonnes of gold from North America to London. But most of it never physically crossed the Atlantic: roughly 59 tonnes were sold in New York and repurchased in London, according to the central bank’s official announcement.
Garlinghouse’s point is simple: if ownership can change without moving the underlying asset, blockchain could make that transfer considerably faster.
Most of the Gold Never Moved
DNB said London gives it better access to one of the world’s deepest physical gold markets, making the reserves easier to trade during a crisis.
That meant selling bars held in New York and buying equivalent gold in London was more practical than transporting everything physically.
Garlinghouse compared the process with Germany’s earlier repatriation program. The Bundesbank took several years to move 674 tonnes of gold from Paris and New York to Frankfurt, completing the program in 2017. The Bundesbank said the operation involved extensive transport and verification.
The important point is not that blockchain eliminates vaults. Physical gold still needs custody, audits and legal ownership protections.
What tokenization can change is the settlement layer.
Tokenized Gold Is Already Trading on XRP Ledger
That gives Garlinghouse’s argument a direct XRPL connection.
The XRP Ledger already supports tokenized real-world assets, including gold-backed tokens. XRPL’s tokenization framework allows issued assets to move onchain with settlement measured in seconds.
Tokenized gold on XRPL has already exceeded $1 million in cumulative trading volume, giving the network a small but real example of the model Garlinghouse is describing. Physical bullion remains with a custodian while its digital representation can change hands without moving the bars themselves.
The broader tokenized asset ecosystem on XRPL has also expanded, while tokenized gold provides one of the clearest comparisons with the Dutch central-bank operation.
| Traditional gold | Tokenized gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Physical custody | Required | Required |
| Ownership transfer | Multiple intermediaries | Onchain |
| Settlement | Market-dependent | Seconds |
| Trading | Limited hours | Potentially 24/7 |
Garlinghouse is not arguing that XRP should replace central-bank gold. His broader case is that moving ownership should not require moving the asset itself.
The Netherlands’ $11 billion gold shuffle shows traditional finance already works that way economically. Tokenization simply tries to make the same process faster and more programmable.
