Ripple Hires LME Treasury Chief Joseph Thompson for Tokenization Push

Ripple has hired Joseph Thompson, currently senior vice president and head of treasury at the London Metal Exchange (LME), to its trading and markets team. Thompson will focus on tokenization strategy and delivery.

Thompson leaves LME on August 31 after nearly a decade with the exchange, where he managed treasury operations for industrial metals futures and options markets. His background includes managing liquidity, eligible collateral, and financial risk at LME, as well as previous roles in liquidity management and funding within Deutsche Bank's group treasury division.

Ripple has been expanding its tokenization infrastructure through investments in ZILO and Licuido, which added token issuance and collateral tools to the company's capital-markets infrastructure. Thompson's experience at a commodities exchange may assist Ripple's strategy in this area, but the company has not announced any new commodity tokenization product or XRP-related market launch.

The appointment follows Ripple Prime's launch of Delta One swaps for institutional investors, covering U.S. equities, indices, and digital assets. Thompson is expected to leave LME on August 31 before beginning his work at Ripple, but neither company has announced who will replace him as head of treasury at the exchange.