Novogratz: XRP and ADA Must Prove Real-World Utility to Survive 2025 Cycle

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz warned that community loyalty alone will not sustain tokens like XRP and ADA through the 2025 market cycle; projects must demonstrate measurable real-world utility and revenue models. Novogratz contrasted Bitcoin’s distinct valuation as money with other chains that will be valued like businesses, driven by revenues, profits and platform usage. He singled out XRP and Cardano (ADA) as examples facing pressure to move beyond narrative and prove business use cases such as cross-border payments, enterprise adoption and protocol fee generation. Key metrics traders should watch include transaction fee revenue, protocol revenue distribution, enterprise partnerships, developer activity and on-chain usage. Novogratz noted market maturation — greater institutional participation and regulatory scrutiny — is shifting capital toward assets with demonstrable economic substance and management quality. He cited token models with clear, equity-like value (e.g., tokens using buybacks/burns tied to profits) as increasingly favored. Galaxy Digital’s internal tracking shows divergence between genuinely adopted networks and those reliant on community momentum; historical cycles (like many 2017 ICO tokens fading) support the view that projects with real use cases hold up better. For traders, the takeaway is to prioritize fundamentals — measurable usage, partnership announcements, on-chain revenue metrics and developer engagement — when assessing XRP and ADA exposure ahead of the next cycle. This is not trading advice; investors should do independent research.
Bearish
The message is negative for price sentiment of XRP and ADA because a prominent institutional voice (Novogratz) signals these tokens face pressure to prove measurable utility or risk losing relevance to business-driven rivals. That raises short-term downside risk: traders may reduce exposure ahead of potential underwhelming on-chain revenue reports, partnership shortfalls or regulatory headwinds. In the medium-to-long term the impact depends on fundamentals — projects that produce sustained fee revenue, enterprise adoption and developer growth could recover and appreciate; those that remain narrative-driven likely underperform. Market maturation and increased institutional allocation to revenue-generating tokens will likely re-rate assets, putting downward pressure on community-reliant coins until they show tangible adoption metrics. Overall, expect heightened volatility and selective capital flows away from XRP/ADA if they fail to meet the cited metrics.