David Schwartz Affirms XRP as a Long-Term Pillar in Ripple's Strategy

David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple Labs, has provided clear and rare analysis regarding the factors driving the price of XRP in the long term, despite the company recently focusing on the new stablecoin RLUSD. In a recent exchange with an XRP supporter on social media, Schwartz emphasized that this cryptocurrency continues to be at the core of Ripple's payment infrastructure, especially with its role as the main bridge asset in cross-border money transfer transactions. The Role of XRP as a Bridge Asset Remains Central While RLUSD plays a specific role, Schwartz reveals that the utility of XRP in real-world financial use cases will ultimately drive its value. His comments reaffirm Ripple's long-term strategy for the digital asset, relying on XRP due to its proven liquidity and its integrated role on the ledger as Ripple explores other digital options. In his response, Schwartz directly addressed the growing speculation that the company may be shifting its focus away from XRP to a new stablecoin, while affirming that this digital asset remains Ripple's cross-currency asset, enabling quick transactions and low costs. Although Schwartz did not share exact data, he believes that the usage level of this token "outperforms all other assets" in Ripple's ecosystem. XRP is linked to the operation of the XRP Ledger, therefore, enhancing the activity of the ledger will almost certainly drive demand for this cryptocurrency token higher, thereby increasing its value as it becomes more essential in the global financial workflow. Schwartz argues that as the practical adoption of the Ripple blockchain network increases, the demand for XRP will also rise. The potential demand, as more businesses and developers build on the XRPL, could be the core driver of XRP's future value. Ripple CTO: Supporting Stablecoin, XRP Maintained Some community members are concerned that Ripple's new stablecoin RLUSD, launching in December 2024, could replace this cryptocurrency token, but Schwartz clarified that stablecoins and XRP serve different purposes. He stated that stablecoins like RLUSD are better suited for use cases that require a fixed value, such as when companies register collateral or need to enter and exit the market without facing significant price volatility. Volatility in the cryptocurrency market can cause disruptions in these cases, and stablecoins avoid this issue by maintaining a stable price. However, Schwartz believes that for most other applications, particularly those related to real-world finance and long term holding, digital assets like XRP are still the better choice. He notes that unless extremely risk-averse, most long-term users are likely to prefer holding this leading digital asset over cash due to its price appreciation potential and its active role in the blockchain ecosystem. The CEO of Ripple further stated that as more organizations transition to using XRPL for financial use cases, the role of XRP in facilitating quick money transfers becomes increasingly important, especially in volatile markets where stablecoins may not be ideal. Schwartz made a subtle yet important distinction, stating that XRP's position on XRPL is a privilege. As a result, this cryptocurrency token is less likely to be replaced or exploited, providing a long-term advantage that many other tokens may not possess.