Ripple CEO Claims XRP Outshines Bitcoin in Real-World Utility—Here’s the Breakdown

Move over, Bitcoin—Ripple’s boss just declared XRP the king of actual use cases. In a swipe at crypto’s ‘store of value’ narrative, the CEO highlighted XRP’s frictionless cross-border payments while Bitcoin miners burn enough energy to power small nations.

Why it matters: Institutions aren’t buying ‘digital gold’ hype anymore—they want blockchain that moves money faster than a Wall Street trader dodges accountability.

The kicker? XRP’s speed comes with centralized baggage. But when banks need settlements yesterday, decentralization purists might just have to hold their noses—and their bags.

Exploring XRP’s utility play

That said, Gilbertie’s statement mirrored an outlook by Standard Chartered earlier this month.

StanChart’s head of digital assets, Geoff Kendricks, projected that XRP could explode 600% to $12.5 in the next three years. 

Kendricks noted that XRP was ‘uniquely positioned’ for the cross-border payments use case.

Ripple recently acquired Hidden Road, a prime broker, that would leverage XRP and its stablecoin, RLUSD, as part of its long-term vision in cross-border payment and trade settlements. 

But Kendricks’ $12.5 XRP price target appeared conservative. According to Sistine Research, the altcoin could hit $33-$50 by 2027 — a potential 1500%-2500% price rally.  

Source: X

The crypto research firm highlighted that XRP price action mirrored the breakout after the consolidation in 2014-2017. If completed, the pattern formation could send XRP above $30 in two years. 

That said, the XRP Ledger address activity slowed in 2025 and was yet to recover fully. Simply put, XRP’s potential strong price recovery could be delayed unless the network traction gains momentum. 

Source: CryptoQuant

On the daily price chart, XRP hit a new April high of $2.3 but stalled and retraced to a previous bearish bullish order block (OB) at $2.1.

The rally could be extended in the short term if bulls defended the level as support and RSI stayed above the 50 mark. Otherwise, short sellers could drag it below $2 again.  

Source: XRP/USDT, TradingView