Ripple Recruits LME Treasury Executive for Institutional Trading Push

Ripple, a company focused on institutional trading and tokenization, has hired Joseph Thompson as its new senior vice president. Thompson is leaving his position as head of treasury at the London Metal Exchange (LME) on August 31.

Thompson's role at Ripple will involve working on tokenized real-world assets, a key area for the company's expansion into institutional finance.

This hire brings experience from one of the world's largest commodities exchanges to Ripple, which has been pushing deeper into corporate treasury and institutional infrastructure. In 2025, the company acquired GTreasury for $1 billion, integrating it with its own Treasury platform that combines traditional cash management with digital-asset capabilities.

Ripple is also expanding its focus on tokenized assets, having recently invested in ZILO and Licuido to improve issuance, transfer agency, and collateral infrastructure. The XRP Ledger is gaining more tokenized products, including a liquidity fund launched by Aviva Investors.