Ripple banking partner powers Elon Musk’s X Money rollout to users

Elon Musk’s X has begun rolling out X Money to select Premium+ users, with the new payments service relying on Ripple banking partner Cross River Bank for its core banking infrastructure.

According to announcements from X, the initial rollout introduces a digital wallet and payment service that allows eligible Premium+ users to send peer-to-peer payments, access a Visa debit card, and earn yield on cash balances through the platform. The company has launched the service using traditional banking infrastructure rather than cryptocurrency.

Cross River Bank serves as the primary banking partner behind X Money. The FDIC member bank holds customer deposits and supports payment processing, card issuance, and the X Cash Sweep Program, which provides up to $10 million in FDIC insurance for eligible balances. 

The bank has worked with Ripple since 2014 and has previously adopted XRP Ledger technology for certain cross-border payment services, drawing attention from the crypto community after the X Money rollout.

X Money currently runs on traditional banking rails

Because of Cross River’s existing relationship with Ripple, some XRP supporters have speculated that future versions of X Money could eventually incorporate blockchain-based payment infrastructure.

Several users within the XRP community suggested the partnership could create opportunities for faster settlements, cross-border transfers, or stablecoin services if X later expands beyond fiat payments.

Neither X nor Cross River Bank has announced any plans to integrate XRP or other cryptocurrencies into X Money. The service currently operates through conventional banking systems despite Elon Musk previously indicating that crypto features could eventually become part of the platform’s financial services.

The rollout also comes shortly after X expanded its Smart Cashtags feature. Users can now view larger real-time charts for cryptocurrencies and stocks, including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, HYPE, Dogecoin, Tesla, Strategy, and Coinbase directly within the platform.

Meanwhile, Ripple has continued promoting its payment infrastructure and regulatory efforts in the U.S. As reported earlier by crypto.news, the company recently deployed a mobile advertising truck around the U.S. Capitol, urging lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act. Ripple stated that the proposed legislation would establish clearer rules for digital assets, strengthen consumer protections, encourage responsible innovation, and help the United States remain competitive in the digital asset industry.

XRP traders monitor key technical support

Alongside the attention surrounding X Money, XRP has recovered modestly after the recent crypto market selloff. At press time, the token was trading around $1.04 after moving between $1.01 and $1.08 over the previous 24 hours.

According to analyst Ali Martinez, XRP is testing a major volume cluster near $1.06. Martinez cited UTXO Realized Price Distribution data showing that more than 830 million XRP previously changed hands around that level, making it an important support area. He added that, if the token falls below that zone, the next significant volume-based support levels are located near $0.80, $0.62, and $0.51.

Separately, CoinGlass data showed derivatives traders remained cautious around the latest crypto options expiry. Total XRP futures open interest declined 2% to approximately $2.35 billion during the previous four hours, indicating that some leveraged positions were closed as volatility continued across the broader crypto market.