Key Takeaways
- Brad Garlinghouse reaffirmed XRP’s central role at Ripple.
- Some traders pushed back on the messaging.
- Analysts say XRP’s price trend remains bearish.
Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse said the company’s “reason for existence” is to drive success around XRP and the broader XRP ecosystem, adding he believes a trillion-dollar crypto company will emerge.
Speaking in a live X Spaces session during XRP Community Day, Garlinghouse framed XRP as Ripple’s “North Star,” tying the token and the XRP Ledger to the firm’s product roadmap as it seeks to expand utility for institutional use cases.
His comments drew mixed reactions among XRP holders and traders, with some questioning whether the company’s growth would translate into XRP price gains, while others dismissed the remarks as optimistic “talk” without meaningful market impact.
Garlinghouse: Ripple’s “Reason For Existence” Is Driving XRP Success
In the live audio event, Garlinghouse said Ripple would continue building financial infrastructure products that bring XRP and the XRP Ledger into its broader set of services.
He told listeners Ripple aims to grow “as a platform company for financial infrastructure,” while continuing to expand XRP’s real-world usage and liquidity across Ripple’s customer base.
Garlinghouse emphasized that Ripple’s long-term business success is tied to the XRP ecosystem, saying the company would continue to build products and services customers would pay for.
He also said Ripple would continue championing technical improvements around XRP and supporting additional investments.
Traders Push Back
Garlinghouse’s comments prompted criticism from some traders and XRP holders, who said they were increasingly skeptical that Ripple’s corporate growth would meaningfully lift XRP’s price.
One trader said: “So more talk? All he does is talk. No action. Y’all are dumb to believe him despite him lying over and over again.”
Another said: “I’m a XRP maxi but why does it matter when Brad Garlinghouse says this sorta stuff, he’s the CEO of Ripple obviously he’s going to be optimistic on Ripple and XRP.”
A third questioned whether Ripple becoming a trillion-dollar company would translate into token gains, writing:
“Assuming Ripple becomes the trillion dollar crypto company, how does that move the price of XRP? It makes me nervous sometimes to think they accomplish all this stuff through Ripple and XRP becomes worthless.”
Ripple’s XRP And Financial Platform Goals
Garlinghouse also reiterated Ripple’s strategy of positioning itself as a financial infrastructure firm rather than a crypto-first company.
He said Ripple’s suite of offerings, including Ripple Payments and Ripple Prime, are designed to expand XRP’s utility in areas such as cross-border payments and lending.
He also said Ripple Treasury enables payments involving XRP and RLUSD within treasury management systems.
Garlinghouse further referenced Ripple’s partnership with Aviva Investors, describing it as one of the world’s largest asset managers.
IPO Candidate
Garlinghouse’s remarks also come as Ripple continues to be discussed as a potential public listing candidate.
CBInsights reported that Ripple Labs was among the world’s top IPO candidates, valuing the firm at more than $50 billion and ranking it ninth globally.
The report noted the valuation reflects Ripple’s enterprise value rather than XRP’s market capitalization, comparing Ripple’s position to SpaceX and OpenAI.
The findings put Garlinghouse’s trillion-dollar crypto company comments into perspective, showing just how far away they currently are.
Ripple President Monica Long previously pushed back on IPO speculation, saying it was not currently on the roadmap.
XRP Price Remains Downward?
Despite the headline boost from Garlinghouse’s comments, XRP’s weekly price structure remains bearish, according to Victor Olanrewaju, an analyst at CCN.
Olanrewaju said XRP has been printing lower highs and lower lows, with recent rebounds failing to hold key Fibonacci retracement levels.
The analyst added the next key level is the 0.236 Fibonacci zone around $1.14, warning that a weekly close below that area could accelerate declines toward the psychological $1 mark and deeper support near $0.50.
However, he added that a breakout could see upside targets around $1.63 and potentially $2 in a bullish scenario.
At the time of reporting, XRP was trading at $1.38, down almost 4% over the last week.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
