Ripple has hired London Metal Exchange treasury executive Joseph Thompson for its trading and markets team, according to an Aug. 28 report.
Summary
- Ripple appointed Joseph Thompson to the trading and markets team, focusing on tokenization strategy and delivery.
- Thompson leaves LME on August 31 after nearly ten years working at the metals exchange.
- He previously held liquidity, funding and risk positions at Deutsche Bank, ICAP and LCH respectively.
- Ripple recently launched Delta One swaps covering U.S. equities, indices and digital assets for institutions.
- The appointment itself does not confirm any new commodity tokenization product or XRP-related market launch.
Thompson will leave the LME on Aug. 31 after nearly a decade at the exchange. His work at Ripple will focus on tokenization strategy and delivery. Ripple has not disclosed his exact title, starting date or reporting structure.
Ripple gains experience from a major commodities exchange
Thompson currently serves as senior vice president and head of treasury at the LME. His professional profile lists experience managing treasury operations at the exchange, which provides futures and options markets for industrial metals.
Earlier LME documents identified Thompson as head of investment and liquidity and collateral risk management. Those responsibilities included areas relevant to clearing operations, such as liquidity, eligible collateral and financial risk.
Before joining the LME, Thompson held liquidity management and funding responsibilities within Deutsche Bank’s group treasury division. He also worked in liquidity risk at ICAP and in collateral and liquidity management risk at London Clearing House.
Moreover, Thompson has more than 15 years of financial-services experience and holds certification from the Association of Corporate Treasurers. His background gives Ripple experience spanning exchanges, clearing, collateral and institutional liquidity.
Ripple is building its tokenization infrastructure
Ripple has expanded beyond cross-border payments into custody, stablecoins, treasury technology, tokenized assets and institutional trading. Its tokenization business supports the issuance and management of funds, bonds, securities and other real-world assets.
The company recently invested in ZILO and Licuido. As the two investments added token issuance and collateral tools, Ripple said it was building regulated transfer agency, trading and collateral mobility into its capital-markets infrastructure.
Thompson’s experience at a commodities exchange may assist that strategy. However, Ripple has not announced a commodity tokenization product connected to the appointment. It has also not said that Thompson will develop products tied directly to metals traded on the LME.
The hire therefore confirms a personnel addition to Ripple’s tokenization operations, not an agreement between Ripple and the LME. It also does not establish that any future tokenized asset will use XRP.
Ripple Prime expands into traditional markets
The appointment follows Ripple Prime’s launch of a Delta One business for institutional investors. The service allows clients to execute total return swaps linked to U.S.-listed equities, equity indices and digital assets.
Ripple says the offering provides hedge funds and asset managers with access through a single counterparty. Clients can also cross-margin exposure across foreign exchange, derivatives, fixed income, equities and digital assets.
Ripple Prime came from the company’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, which closed in October 2025. The brokerage now clears more than $3 trillion in annual trades for over 300 institutional clients, according to Ripple.
As Ripple Prime expanded its institutional clearing connections, the business also joined a DTCC working group focused on tokenized securities. Its participation does not place XRP inside the DTCC’s clearing system.
What happens after Thompson leaves the LME
Thompson is expected to leave the LME on Aug. 31 before beginning his work at Ripple. Neither company has announced who will replace him as the exchange’s head of treasury.
Ripple has not published a timetable for projects involving Thompson. Further disclosures will be needed to establish which tokenization products, markets or institutional clients fall under his responsibilities.
The appointment comes as Ripple connects tokenized-asset infrastructure with trading, financing, clearing and collateral services. Thompson’s experience fits that direction, but the commercial outcome remains uncertain until Ripple identifies specific products.
