Now That XRP is Deceased, What Comes Next? Swift Executive Labels Ripple as a Chain on Its Last Legs
XRP’s valuation and Decentralized finance engagement are facing scrutiny once more, as Swift’s Chief Innovation Officer Tom Zschach described Ripple as a ‘dead chain walking’
“Enduring lawsuits isn’t the same as resilience. What is truly needed is neutral, collaborative governance,” Zschach stated in a LinkedIn post. “
He added: “Institutions prefer not to operate on a rival’s infrastructure. Compliance is not merely about one entity persuading regulators to allow it to function. It requires a consensus across the industry on common standards that no singular balance sheet can dominate.”

Feel free to express your thoughts vehemently on social media, but Zschach’s remark reveals an increasing perception in traditional finance that stablecoins and platforms like Circle’s USDC are more suited to become the foundation of future settlement frameworks.
Furthermore, XRP’s DeFi landscape appears to be waning in comparison to ETH, Solana, Sui, and SEI cryptocurrencies. Should XRP traders feel anxious?
XRP Decentralized finance Challenges: What’s Causing ETH and Solana to Outpace Ripple? (Ethereum at $96.9Bn vs XRP at $87M)
The statistics portray a troubling outlook for XRP. As per DeFiLlama, the XRP Database (XRPL) holds a total value locked (TVL) of merely $87.85 million, with daily decentralized exchange volumes falling below $70,000.
In contrast, ETH rules the DeFi space with a $96.9 billion TVL, and Solana follows with $11.27 billion TVL. Coinbase’s Base chain, which has only been operational since 2023, has already achieved nearly $5 billion in total value locked. This starkly highlights XRP’s considerable lag behind its rivals.

Insights from TheBlock depict a similar trend concerning derivatives. XRP’s futures open interest remains minimal in comparison to that of Ethereum and Solana, indicating limited institutional engagement. This disparity points to a platform that is still struggling to attract the kind of protocol effects that entice developers and significant enterprises.
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Can XRP’s Development Counteract Ripple’s Platform Deterioration?
Ripple has rolled out enhancements to promote XRPL utilization, including:
- Automated Market Makers (AMMs) featuring new market fluidity pools.
- RLUSD, Ripple’s proprietary stablecoin, alongside Circle’s introduction of a native USDC on XRPL.
- An EVM sidechain aimed at augmenting compatibility with Ethereum.
Community insights suggest that progress relies less on excitement and more on developers advancing projects. Adam Kagy, co-founder of an NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN marketplace, expressed it clearly: “Companies won’t invest in networks with minimal retail engagement or on-chain activity.”
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Does XRP Retain Potential in Enterprise Distributed record Adoption?
It’s quite perplexing how anyone can perceive Ripple as anything other than centralized.
This is why former Ripple CBDC advisor Antony Welfare emphasized the necessity for enterprise-grade infrastructure. He pointed to Hyperledger Besu, which accounts for 10% of ETH transactions, as evidence that reliability fosters institutional confidence.
For XRP, the clear task is to demonstrate its capacity to support high-throughput, enterprise-level adoption without the dangers of centralization. Failing that, the emergence of stablecoins and competitors that embrace regulatory compliance will jeopardize its existence.
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Key Takeaways
- With XRP appearing lifeless, what lies ahead? This isn’t merely our inquiry but that of Tom Zschach, Chief Innovation Officer at Swift.
- Insights from the community indicate that true advancement hinges less on promotional hype and more on builders forging ahead with projects.
The post Now That XRP is Dead, What’s Next? Swift Executive Calls Ripple a Dead Chain Walking appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
