Vice President JD Vance said the United States should grow its economy faster than its debt after the national debt crossed $40 trillion, declining to endorse Bitcoin, XRP or another digital asset as a tool to reduce the figure. Speaking on Newsmax’s Carl Higbie Frontline on August 20, 2026, Vance referred to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan and nearly $19 trillion in projected foreign investment over the next decade. Bessent separately said there was nothing magic about the $40 trillion level and that the country could grow its way out of it. The discussion renewed attention on the administration’s digital-asset policy, including President Trump’s 2025 comments about a potential stockpile containing XRP, Bitcoin and other assets, and Vance’s description of Bitcoin as a strategic U.S. asset at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas. XRP’s policy profile has also been strengthened by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s August 19 meeting with President Trump, SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig at a White House crypto summit focused on the CLARITY Act and its pivotal September 15 Senate vote. Goldman Sachs recently reclaimed its position as the largest XRP ETF holder, while XRP rose more than 16% in 24 hours and 51% over the previous week at the time of writing. The interview represented a policy signal rather than a commitment to a crypto reserve, but it added to XRP’s visibility in U.S. fiscal and digital-asset discussions.