Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has reaffirmed that XRP remains the company's central priority, describing the asset as Ripple's internal "North Star" during the Ripple Swell event in New York, following market speculation that the firm's new RLUSD stablecoin was taking precedence.
Clarifying XRP Role Alongside RLUSD
Speaking to CoinDesk and blockchain researcher BankXRP, Garlinghouse addressed concerns that recent announcements around RLUSD had drawn attention away from XRP. He emphasized that Ripple only intends to execute strategies that benefit its core token, stating, "We only want to do things that are good for XRP." While Ripple has expanded into corporate treasury and prime brokerage services, Garlinghouse acknowledged that while XRP is foundational to its infrastructure, its suitability depends on the specific use case, noting the token is "extremely efficient in some use cases and, frankly, probably not in other use cases."
To maintain overall transaction volume, Garlinghouse explained that Ripple is willing to utilize fiat currencies or RLUSD when XRP is not the optimal settlement asset. He stated that securing a portion of a customer's transaction through alternative methods is preferable to capturing zero percent. Looking ahead five years, Garlinghouse projected that XRP will establish itself as "the institutional gold standard for crypto rails," serving as a foundational asset for how institutions manage money, receive payments, invest, lend, and borrow.
Institutional Expansion and Market Performance
The executive's remarks coincided with several major institutional updates announced on the October 27 opening day of Swell. Ripple unveiled a strategic partnership with Robinhood covering stablecoins, institutional settlement, treasury operations, and financing. Simultaneously, BNY Mellon expanded its platform to support both XRP and RLUSD on its institutional digital asset custody service. Ripple's National Trust Bank also received final regulatory approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), completing a process that began with conditional approval in 2025, building on momentum detailed when Ripple secured OCC approval and Wall Street integrations.
Key takeaways from the event include:
- XRP Priority: Garlinghouse reaffirmed XRP as Ripple's core priority despite the emergence of RLUSD.
- Institutional Partnerships: Major deals announced with Robinhood and BNY Mellon, alongside final OCC approval for Ripple's National Trust Bank.
- Price Action: XRP traded near $1.30 per CoinGecko, down 2% in 24 hours, nearly 4% over seven days, almost 13% over the last month, and 50% from the same period last year.
Why It Matters
Ripple's dual-track approach reflects the practical realities of institutional payments, where stablecoins like RLUSD offer fiat stability and predictable settlement that volatile crypto assets cannot always provide. By positioning both RLUSD and XRP within mainstream platforms like BNY Mellon and Robinhood, Ripple ensures it captures transaction fee flow regardless of institutional asset preference. The long-term challenge for Ripple will be demonstrating that growing RLUSD enterprise volume directly drives liquidity and structural utility back to XRP.
