The long-running dispute over what XRP is definitely for — not Ripple’s enterprise mannequin, however the token itself — exploded once more on October 30, 2025, after crypto skilled Scott Melker publicly requested whether or not the asset nonetheless has a reside, defensible use case in an ecosystem now dominated by fiat-backed stablecoins.
What Is The Utility Of XRP?
“I say this with no disrespect, searching for an precise reply,” Melker wrote on X. “What’s the present pitch for XRP? The token, not Ripple the corporate.” He pointed to concrete developments in cross-border settlement rails: “Western Union selected Solana for his or her stablecoin. Swift went with Linea on ETH, which was the promoting level I heard for years?” Melker then set the tone for all the debate: “Stablecoins have clearly taken the reigns for funds, so I get their stablecoin being in play. However what utility does XRP have? Once more, not trolling. Asking.” The put up had greater than 291,000 views on October 30.
The primary main response got here from neighborhood members who argued that the comparability to stablecoins is structurally mistaken. The account Cripto ISO 22 mentioned the token will not be meant to compete with bank-grade or treasury-grade stablecoins. As a substitute, as they put it, “XRP will not be competing with stablecoins it’s the liquidity bridge between them and between currencies, belongings, and cost networks. Whereas stablecoins signify worth, XRP represents mobility.”
In keeping with that view, the token exists to supply “real-time settlement, FX conversion, and on-demand liquidity between CBDCs, banks, and company treasuries.” Ripple’s buildout — together with GTreasury, RLUSD, and Evernorth — is framed as an rising infrastructure layer by which the token turns into “the impartial asset connecting all types of cash. Stablecoins transfer inside silos. XRP strikes worth throughout them.”
Melker challenged that logic instantly. “This is unnecessary to me, maybe I’m dense,” he replied. “You should utilize a stablecoin because the bridge for conversions with zero loss from token volatility. Why is the token wanted particularly and never one other?” He later mentioned he was nonetheless searching for one thing verifiable now somewhat than projections: “I feel the core subject I’ve is that persons are screaming at me about the entire issues that ‘will’ occur however no person can inform me what ‘is’ occurring. In the meantime, Stablecoins are consuming the world.”
Ripple’s Dependence
Former CoinRoutes chairman Dave Weisberger stepped in and accused massive components of the neighborhood of refusing to confront fundamental balance-sheet realities. “Individuals purchase XRP as a result of it’s a meme,” he mentioned. “Identical to ADA. Identical to Doge. Identical to Trump coin. It’s by no means been in regards to the utility. It’s in regards to the XRP neighborhood which is without doubt one of the strongest to today.” Weisberger mentioned that when he has requested the identical query Melker is now asking, “the ONLY coherent reply I’ve gotten is Ripple is making XRP ‘central’ to their technique. Translation: their Prime wants an unlimited steadiness sheet & XRP makes up the vast majority of it, for now…”
He then drew a direct line between market worth and Ripple’s operational runway. “XRP doesn’t must go UP for that plan to work, however it could possibly’t crash with out inflicting ache as they want the steadiness sheet.” He closed with the road that outlined the tone of the thread: “Make of that what you’ll, however the delusions of 100x returns are blinding you from actual evaluation…”
Weisberger’s stance is that the token’s present relevance will not be the results of unstoppable exterior adoption, however of Ripple structurally relying on the token as collateral and liquidity inside its personal stack. That argument implicitly rejects the long-standing declare that “Ripple and XRP are separate,” suggesting as a substitute that the token is deeply tied to Ripple’s steadiness sheet and Prime liquidity technique. If XRP’s worth holds, Ripple can deploy it. If worth collapses, Ripple’s firepower weakens.
The XRP camp answered from first ideas. The account @xrpmickle argued that even asking for a “pitch” misunderstands what the token is. “The worth proposition isn’t a brief pitch — it’s foundational,” he wrote. “[The token] serves the identical core objective that lots of the prime cryptocurrencies do: it’s the native type of worth and safety layer for the distributed ledger it operates on. […] The XRP Ledger actually can not exist or function with out XRP.”
Mickle went additional, arguing that stablecoins are issued liabilities whose usefulness is inherited from the community they sit on, whereas the token is “integral — not derived.” In that telling, the token is designed to be impartial settlement-grade liquidity that may join incompatible methods, not a financial institution IOU that lives inside a company silo.
Melker, nonetheless, drew a line between what the token is architected to be and what it’s presently doing at institutional scale. “No person can inform me what ‘is’ occurring,” he wrote, pointing to what he sees as a niche between forward-looking claims and visual corridors right now. That very same cut up surfaced in a aspect change about Bitcoin, the place a critic requested what Bitcoin is “really used for.” Melker responded: “That’s sort of the purpose. It doesn’t have to be used for something.” In different phrases, Bitcoin may be defended as financial premium. XRP, in contrast, is marketed as transactional infrastructure, so it lives or dies on getting used.
At press time, XRP traded at $2.56.
Featured picture created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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