Reporter Questions XRP’s Role in Ripple’s Business Growth
A reporter asked Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse how central XRP is to the company as institutional interest and Ripple’s business expand around its RLUSD stablecoin. Crypto commentator VALE highlighted the exchange, arguing that Ripple’s broader growth does not necessarily create direct demand for XRP.
Garlinghouse said Ripple’s payment business handled $13 trillion in transactions in 2025, but 99.9% of that volume did not use crypto rails or stablecoins. VALE said this raises questions about whether institutional activity translates into meaningful XRP usage, and pointed to XRP’s price performance as a concern. Community members disagreed over whether RLUSD and activity on the XRP Ledger create indirect demand for XRP through transaction fees and token burns. The discussion centers on the distinction between demand for Ripple’s services and direct institutional demand for XRP.
Neutral
The article highlights uncertainty about whether Ripple’s business growth and institutional relationships create direct demand for XRP. The reported figure—$13 trillion in payment transactions in 2025, with 99.9% said not to involve crypto rails or stablecoins—may reinforce concerns that Ripple’s commercial activity does not automatically translate into XRP usage. However, the article presents a debate rather than a new policy, adoption commitment, or confirmed change in network activity, so it does not establish a clear directional catalyst.
In the short term, traders may react to the renewed discussion by watching XRP’s price action, trading volume, and any follow-up statements from Ripple or institutions. Negative sentiment could weigh on XRP if traders interpret the payment figures as evidence of weak token utility; counterarguments about XRP Ledger fees and token burns could limit that reaction. Similar debates over whether a company’s adoption benefits its associated token have often produced brief volatility without a sustained move unless supported by measurable changes in usage or flows.
Over the longer term, the key indicators are actual XRP transaction and liquidity activity, institutional use of XRP as a bridge asset, and whether Ripple’s payment volumes increasingly use crypto rails. Until such evidence emerges, the story is more likely to shape sentiment and prompt scrutiny of XRP’s value capture than to alter market fundamentals on its own.