XRP Scores Yet Another Prominent Supporter

Michael A. Gayed, portfolio manager at Toroso Investments and publisher of The Lead-Lag Report, has seemingly endorsed the XRP token. On the X social media network, Gayed has stated that he might get “annoying” about the token while also teasing something XRP-related. Some members of the community behind one of the leading altcoins see Gayed’s posts as a signal of growing mainstream interest in XRP from traditional finance professionals. He is the publisher of The Lead‑Lag Report, which is a market research service that aims to provide risk signals, macro observations, and actionable investing ideas. Gayed has been featured on CNBC as well as other financial platforms. As reported by U.Today, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also recently revealed that he had purchased $1 million worth of XRP. ETF criticism Gayed has historically been critical of certain aspects of the broader cryptocurrency narratives, particularly Bitcoin maximalism and the “digital gold” framing. On Nov. 17, he stated, "Bitcoin ETFs were the worst thing to happen to Bitcoin." The portfolio manager later argued that BlackRock had made more money on Bitcoin ETFs than retail investors did.He sees ETFs as benefiting issuers more than investors, exacerbating retail losses.He repeatedly dismisses popular theses like Bitcoin as a "store of value" or inflation hedge, viewing them as disconnected from economic realities.The timing coincides with strong inflows into U.S. spot XRP ETFs. As of today, nine spot XRP ETFs had accumulated approximately $900 million in assets under management since their launch, with daily inflows continuing in the $10–15 million range. Major issuers include Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, 21Shares, ProShares, and Grayscale.