Ripple CEO Clears the Air: XRP Still King, Despite RLUSD Drama

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In an interview that could only be described as a much-needed breath of fresh air (or perhaps just the crypto equivalent of a cold bucket of water), Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse took aim at all the wild speculation surrounding the company’s new US dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, and its supposed dethroning of XRP. In his usual charmingly calm manner, Garlinghouse told Crypto in America reporter Eleanor Terrett that XRP remains firmly at the heart of Ripple’s grand strategy, despite the fact that Ripple’s transactions may involve a cornucopia of different assets depending on who they’re dealing with and what the market demands.

Ripple CEO Sets The Record Straight: XRP Vs. RLUSD

During a November 5 interview that surely shook crypto Twitter to its very core, Terrett asked Garlinghouse to weigh in on the social media chatter about RLUSD and whether Ripple’s shift away from cross-border payments might somehow render XRP obsolete. Garlinghouse, ever the calm amidst the storm, was crystal clear: “XRP sits at the center of everything Ripple does.” He went on to explain that the recent online drama was the product of “misinformation and sometimes outright disinformation” circulating on crypto Twitter. After all, the narrative that Ripple had “given up on XRP” simply didn’t make sense, did it? Of course not.

Garlinghouse framed XRP as part of Ripple’s bigger picture-a world where routing payments isn’t about sticking dogmatically to one asset, but rather about using whatever works best for the job at hand. In this context, stablecoins sometimes make the cut. But so does XRP. Garlinghouse had this to say: “We want to deliver the best possible product to a customer at the best price, and sometimes that may be a stablecoin. Sometimes it may not.” He might as well have been speaking about the age-old question: Should I order pizza or sushi tonight? The answer depends on what you need (and what’s available).

And then came the juicy nugget that everyone’s been waiting for: “During the first part of ’23,” Garlinghouse said, “Ripple was minting 20 percent of all USDC.” That’s right-Ripple’s institutional payments were apparently so significant that they accounted for nearly a fifth of all USDC in circulation. Far from clinging to XRP like a lifeboat in a storm, Garlinghouse highlighted Ripple’s pragmatic approach: “We also used USDC. We also used XRP.” Let that sink in, folks. Ripple’s not here to play favorites with tokens; they’re just trying to find the best solution for their clients. “We are not XRP maximalists,” Garlinghouse quipped. Apparently, Ripple’s not in the business of crypto tribalism-who knew?

Garlinghouse also pointed to XRP’s standout features-its scalability, speed, and cheapness (in the grand scheme of transaction fees)-but, in a rare moment of humility, he acknowledged that XRP isn’t perfect for everything. “Some things it’s great for, other things, not so much,” he conceded. A rare moment of honesty from a CEO, which honestly deserves a round of applause.

Despite the arrival of RLUSD in Ripple’s toolkit, Garlinghouse suggested that it’s not a “replacement” for XRP, but rather another way for the company to fine-tune its routing strategy. In markets where fiat-backed stablecoins provide better liquidity, great. Use them. But in cases where XRP’s rapid finality and low-cost transactions reign supreme? You guessed it-XRP takes the wheel.

As for market share? Garlinghouse’s philosophy is refreshingly laid-back: “We want to scale from tens of billions of dollars to hundreds of billions… to trillions.” He added that XRP’s growth is closely tied to Ripple’s overall success, not necessarily to having a monopoly over the entire market. “If XRP doesn’t have 100 percent of that pie, but the pie is growing really quickly, then I’m happy. That’s a really good place to be.” And who can argue with that logic? Let the pie grow, baby!

At press time, XRP traded at $2.32. And while that might be a far cry from the heady days of $10 dreams, it’s still a solid position to be in, wouldn’t you say?

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2025-11-06 13:40