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The Ripple asset has not yet established itself as the “cryptocurrency of banks.”
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XRP processed $1.3 trillion in the second quarter of 2025.
Alexander Velásquez, financial markets analyst, believes that XRP has high potential thanks to its ability to move money on a global scale quickly and at low costs. For this reason, he states that he prefers this asset over bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency.
Now, Is this advantage enough to invest all the capital in XRP? Before answering this question, it is important to clarify some questions.
Velásquez himself reveals in his most recent report that he has placed all his capital in the cryptocurrency issued by Ripple Labs. «Well, I have a confession to make: I started investing recently, but not in any of the companies that I have previously analyzed. In fact, I currently have my entire portfolio invested in one thing: XRP,” he admits.
In addition, he «strongly» recommends the purchase of XRP «because Ripple has developed an unparalleled infrastructure in SWIFT: a fast, low-cost network that already moves approximately $5 trillion annually, with the participation of major banks and central banks.»
However, and based on what has been stated here, his position is somewhat questionable. It is that from his role as financial analyst, the fact of declaring that he has all his capital in a single risk asset may raise doubts about its objectivity.
To contextualize his recommendation and clarify possible conflicts of interest, Velásquez clarifies: «If you follow me or have read any of my previous articles, you will know that all my analyses, no matter how optimistic my position, have focused on companies in which I have no participation.»
What it does not clarify is that the diversification of The portfolio remains a basic rule for risk management. And even more so when it comes to an asset as volatile as cryptocurrencies.
John Murillo, business director of B2BROKER, was consulted by NoticiasVE about this and said: «I would say that investing all your capital in a single asset is never advisable, no matter what it is. In the case of cryptocurrencies, there are concentration risks that are amplified by constant volatility, liquidity cycles and regulatory uncertainty. The fact is that even a single small event – from court rulings to exchange delistings – can erase months of profits.»
With these clarifications made, now it is time to review the reasons why Velásquez chooses XRP over bitcoin or ether.
XRP Ledger Network Speed
Velásquez highlights that Ripple is expanding the use of XRP through its on-demand liquidity (ODL) service, which allows almost instantaneous international payments with reduced costs.
In the second quarter of 2025, ODL processed $1.3 trillion in transactionsbenefiting banks like Santander and partners like SBI Remit and Tranglo.
In addition, Ripple collaborates with central banks on digital currency pilot projects, such as those in Bhutan and Palau. This reinforces the potential of XRP as an infrastructure for future CBDCs, a market that could exceed 1.5 trillion dollars by 2030. Velásquez also states:
Although I believe that BTC is the best asset as a store of value, being one of its main attractions for being considered ‘digital gold’, its transaction speed is too slow: it takes 10 minutes to confirm and it can only process a maximum of seven transactions per second (TPS). This also makes it difficult to scale. XRP, on the other hand, supports 1,500 TPS under standard conditions, making it more than 214 times faster than Bitcoin, with fees less than a cent compared to Bitcoin’s, ranging from $1 to $10 and can even be higher at peak times.
Alexander Velásquez, financial markets analyst.
But is this enough to choose it over bitcoin? Velásquez focuses on transaction speed as the main argument in favor of XRP over BTC. However, That technical difference does not necessarily make Ripple Labs cryptocurrency a better investment.
Speed and low transaction costs are operational advantages, but they do not guarantee long-term value.
Bitcoin was designed as a more secure and decentralized network, prioritizing immutability over speed. In addition, its scalability has improved with solutions such as the Lightning Network, which allows thousands of transactions per second to be processed off the main chain.
Perhaps speed can be a functional advantage, but in terms of adoption, value and safety, the debate remains open.
On the other hand, it is necessary to explain why Velásquez speaks of BTC as «digital gold.» This is because the digital asset shares similarities with the precious metal such as its decentralization and resistance to censorship.
Its supply is limited to 21 million units and is reduced every four years with the halving, which reinforces its scarcity. These characteristics make it a kind of “digital gold”, valued as a refuge from inflation and expansive monetary policies.
Another issue that must be highlighted is that BTC tends to appreciate over timeas seen in the following graph:
For its part, XRP had to wait almost seven years to once again surpass its all-time high of $3.31.
XRP and the promise of being the “cryptocurrency of banks”
Velasquez projects that XRP could range between $10.97 and $66.67 in the long term. This implies a growth potential of between 350% and 2,631% compared to current values.
These estimates are based on the possibility of XRP capturing some of SWIFT’s payment volume. This is the global system of international transfers that moves 150 billion dollars annually, although slowly and expensively.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO de Ripple Labs, estimates that the cryptocurrency could manage up to 14% of that flow by 2030equivalent to 21 billion dollars a year.
But XRP has not yet established itself as the “cryptocurrency of banks.” Another issue to keep in mind is that its use in RippleNet is optional, which limits its central role. That is to say, The analyst makes his projection based on a Garlinghouse estimatewhich we still do not know if it will be fulfilled or not.
Another alternative that is being considered is the possible integration of XRP with SWIFT. However, So far it is a rumor, without official confirmation.
It should be noted that although the author presents these estimates as an argument in favor of XRP, he does not do the same for Ethereum. When talking about the network co-created by Vitalik Buterin he says: “Its main strength lies in smart contracts and its ability to host applications on its network, such as Uniswap, as well as wallets such as MetaMask and Trust Wallet.”
In that sense, it points out that «its use for high-volume payments is not practical due to its TPS of 16.91 and gas commissions that range between $0.50 and less, and congestion can double the cost of commissions in a matter of minutes.»
That is, it leaves aside other advantages of the network, such as its leadership in stablecoins or tokenized real-world assets (RWA), one of the market trends.
Standard Chartered, a British multinational bank, projects that the RWA industry could reach a market capitalization of $2 trillion (trillions in English) by 2028, as reported by NoticiasVE.
«Ethereum has been running for over 10 years without any disruption to its mainnet. In our view, the fact that other chains are faster or cheaper is irrelevant,» says Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered.
At the moment, The RWA that inhabit Ethereum exceeds 11.82 billion dollars, as seen in the following graph:
Ethereum is likely to capture a significant portion of this RWA market. This would generate greater activity in the network and, therefore, a sustained demand for ETH for the payment of commissions.
Unlike XRP, whose price estimates largely depend on its future adoption, In Ethereum there is a continuous and sustained use of its ecosystem. It is a factor that tangibly drives the value and utility of its native currency.