Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse laid out his case for $XRP in the simplest terms possible when asked how the token’s value connects to actual network transaction volume, pointing to basic supply and demand. $XRP has a fixed supply, he said, and Ripple’s job is to keep growing demand against that fixed number.
Three Pillars: Trust, Utility, Velocity
Garlinghouse said what actually drives a currency’s value over time is trust, utility and velocity, or how liquid it is. He argued that the most liquid currencies tend to become the most valuable ones, because liquidity is what makes people want to hold an asset in the first place. For $XRP, that means Ripple’s focus is on pushing more real usage and liquidity through the token rather than relying on speculation alone.
Momentum From Financial Institutions
He said he feels good about the progress Ripple has made so far, pointing to the growing number of financial institutions being brought onto the $XRP Ledger as evidence the strategy is working. He also credited other companies building within the broader $XRP ecosystem for adding to that momentum, saying the collective effort across the network is what ultimately builds demand for the token.
A Reminder From Before The SEC Lawsuit
Garlinghouse pointed out that people tend to forget $XRP was once the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap, before the SEC filed its lawsuit against Ripple. For him, that history is a reminder of where $XRP already stood once, and part of why he remains confident it can get back there as Ripple’s institutional partnerships and the token’s real-world utility continue to expand.