'Nervous' Musk Seemingly Rattled by $XRP Question

The X owner, who has been actively campaigning for the former president Donald Trump in recent weeks, spoke for more than an hour and answered questions

Elon Musk, the X owner, spoke for more than an hour and answered questions on various topics such as the economy, some politics, and also cryptocurrency during a town hall at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Musk was asked if he "envisions" the XRP Ledger being integrated into financial institutions in the future.

“I don't want to speak to any specific crypto, but I do think that crypto, by its nature, helps with individual freedom,” he said, adding that his comments are not an endorsement “or a lack of endorsement” for XRP, the XRP Ledger's native token.

Some crypto users on X immediately began discussing the seemingly awkward responses the Tesla CEO made about the XRP token, which has recently been in the headlines due to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) ongoing legal scuffle with Ripple, the world's largest holder of XRP.

A few users said it appeared as if Musk "got very nervous" about the question, while Abs of the Good Morning Crypto YouTube Channel said he believes the tech titan was "being very careful with his answer."

XRP and Bitcoin user Ricky said it was apparent that the question "threw him off balance," and another user claimed that Musk "almost passed out" while he searched for the right words to say.

Other XRP users were excited that Musk was made to mention the token, but Black Swan Capitalist YouTube founder Versan Aljarrah questioned why the tech billionaire purportedly "endorsed" Bitcoin and Dogecoin (DOGE) but did not say anything substantial about XRP. "Think about it. The silence says it all," he said.

One user agreed, noting how Musk's response was similar to the way SEC Chair Gary Gensler had been dodging direct questions about Ether's status as a security or a commodity. "There is a truth to both these questions but they are not allowed to reveal it because it's all part of a bigger plan. Elon knows," the user claimed.

The news about the mention of XRP during the town call came days after the XRP army went trending on Musk's social media platform as the SEC formally filed an appeal to overturn some aspects of a 2023 ruling regarding the token's status as a non-security.

The financial regulator sued Ripple in 2020 for its alleged violations of securities laws due to its sales of XRP, which the SEC said was an unregistered security. The case should have ended earlier this year with a $125 million fine on Ripple, but the SEC revived the case with an appeal.

Ripple is due to file its cross-appeal this week, as its executives promised to continue defending its case.