- YouTuber Andrei Jikh challenged XRP’s viability, questioning why Ripple’s claimed 300+ bank partnerships haven’t produced significant on-chain transaction volume over 13 years.
- Jikh raised concerns about XRP’s volatility making it impractical as a bridge asset, especially when stablecoins are increasingly preferred for cross-border transfers.
- Ripple CTO David Schwartz responded by defending XRP’s volatility as potentially beneficial and promised regulatory features like permissioned domains to boost institutional adoption.
- Schwartz acknowledged geopolitical challenges for the US-affiliated network but emphasised Ripple’s global licensing approach and focus on operating in welcoming markets.
YouTuber Andrei Jikh took to Crypto Twitter to voice his concern over XRP and Ripple, specifically adoption, utility and long-term viability of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem.
Jikh – who has over two million subscribers on the video platform – questioned why, despite Ripple’s claims of 300+ bank partnerships over 13 years, there isn’t significant, verifiable on-chain volume to reflect this usage.
He also challenged the practicality of using XRP as a bridge asset, especially given its price volatility and the growing preference for stablecoins in cross-border transfers.
He then raised doubts about XRP’s long-term necessity, asking whether bridge assets will still matter when stablecoin pairs dominate and whether major institutions would prefer to use or build on proprietary or alternative blockchains.
Lastly, he questioned the global appeal of a US-based, privately controlled network in an increasingly fragmented and politically sensitive financial landscape.
Related: Institutions Quietly Pile Into XRP and Solana Ahead of Ripple SEC Verdict, Says Bitget
Joel Katz’s Comeback
Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), David Schwartz – who goes by the moniker Joel Katz on CT – answered with a detailed reply.
“Ripple has 300+ bank partnerships, but after 13 years, shouldn’t there be billions in daily on-chain volume?”
I think there are a number of reasons why institutions have historically preferred to use digital assets off chain rather than on chain. I think we’re close to changing…
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) July 30, 2025
He addressed the partnership concerns by suggesting that regulatory safeguards like permissioned domains are on the way to make institutional use of XRPL more viable and compliant, though he agreed adoption is slow. He also explained why Ripple itself doesn’t use the XRPL for payments:
Even Ripple can’t use the XRPL DEX for payments yet because we can’t be sure a terrorist won’t provide the liquidity for payment. Features like permissioned domains will address this.
With regard to volatility, Schwartz said that “there are use cases where volatility isn’t a minus, or is even a plus.”
“Generally, for most digital assets the general view is that the upside is worth more than the downside, so as long as you aren’t very risk averse, holding it is not really a disadvantage,” Schwartz said.
Regarding institutional use, the CTO explained that interoperability and asset portability will ultimately matter more than which specific blockchain is used. He sees a multi-chain future as both inevitable and beneficial for scalability, and argues that large institutions – like BlackRock – may follow a logic similar to Circle’s with USDC.
Make Hay Where the Sun Shines
On geopolitical risk, he explained that the XRP Ledger isn’t inherently US-controlled, saying it has “never discriminated against any particular participant” and that Ripple operates through licensed entities globally. He admitted however, that in sensitive regions, US affiliation may still provoke pushback, but emphasised that Ripple focuses on building trust and operating where it’s most welcomed.
You’re not going to see it in North Korea or Cuba any time soon and there might be, in some cases, pushback to a US company having some control over, say, payments between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. We build trust and we make hay where the sun shines.
David Schwartz, Ripple CTO Related: Australian Analyst Says White House Crypto Report Could See Increasing Bitcoin Volatility
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