XRP investors received a flurry of positive news last year. Ripple, the company behind XRP, finally settled its lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for $125 million, far less than the initial $2 billion demanded by the SEC. In November last year, the SEC approved the first batch of XRP spot ETFs, opening a new investment channel for this cryptocurrency.
However, after a strong start at the beginning of the year, the price of XRP experienced a significant pullback, not only erasing all its gains but also ending the year down 9% overall.
We have witnessed XRP rebound from its lows; it possesses long-term growth potential as a cross-border payment solution. Now that another opportunity to buy the dip has emerged, can XRP still create a wealth myth? Let’s delve deeper into the analysis.
In 2012, Ripple launched the decentralized blockchain network XRP Ledger (XRPL) and its associated cryptocurrency, XRP. This network is designed specifically for financial institutions, enabling fast and low-cost fund transfers: transactions settle in just 3-5 seconds with fees under $0.01, making it faster and more economical than Bitcoin transfers.
XRPL is the core foundation of Ripple’s global payments network. Currently, over 300 banks across six continents have connected to this network. Ripple’s goal is to capture market share from the current dominant interbank cross-border payment system, SWIFT. In June 2025, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that XRPL has the potential to handle 14% of SWIFT’s international payment volume within five years. Based on SWIFT’s current annual transaction volume of $150 trillion, this would amount to $21 trillion, representing an ambitious target.
As the native cryptocurrency of XRPL, XRP is used both to pay on-chain transaction fees and to provide On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) services for Ripple’s banking partners. Financial institutions can convert funds for cross-border transfers into XRP, thereby eliminating the need to pre-fund foreign currency accounts. If the usage of the XRPL network and the scale of liquidity services continue to grow, the demand for XRP, as a core component, will inevitably increase in tandem.
Despite playing an important role in Ripple’s payment network, this is just one aspect of Ripple’s diverse business portfolio. Recent developments indicate that the company is transitioning towards becoming a comprehensive financial services institution. In October last year, it acquired brokerage firm Hidden Road and renamed it Ripple Prime. In December, it received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a federally chartered trust bank. Additionally, it launched its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, Ripple USD.
Similar to XRP, Ripple USD offers the advantages of 3-5 second fast settlement and ultra-low fees. However, its stablecoin nature means its price will not experience the kind of sharp volatility seen with XRP. Notably, most of Ripple’s expanding businesses do not require the involvement of XRP. Even in cross-border payment scenarios, banking partners can directly use its fiat settlement technology; XRP is only needed when utilizing the On-Demand Liquidity feature—and most institutions have not activated this functionality.
The future real winner might be Ripple the company, rather than the XRP token. Currently, Ripple is not publicly listed, but market expectations are widespread that it will initiate an Initial Public Offering (IPO) this year.
Assuming achieving a hundredfold return is required to create millionaires (i.e., turning a $10,000 investment into $1 million), as of January 21st, XRP’s market capitalization has already reached $115 billion. A hundredfold increase would mean its total market cap would soar to $11.5 trillion—nearly three times the market cap of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The probability of achieving this goal within the next decade is extremely slim.
However, XRP still holds investment value. According to forecasts, the size of the global payments market will grow from $190 trillion in 2023 to $290 trillion by 2030. XRP’s value as a bridge currency for cross-border payments, coupled with the convenience for institutional investment brought by ETF approval, could all contribute to its growth. Investors might consider allocating it as a high-risk, high-reward asset in a small portion of their portfolio, but they must maintain realistic expectations. Although its historical performance once amazed the market, the XRP of today may find it difficult to recreate the myth of wealth creation.
