Ripple CEO’s XRP Utility Vision Gains Momentum as ETF Decision Looms
Brad Garlinghouse's years-old predictions about XRP's real-world utility suddenly look prescient as regulatory gates begin to open.
The Waiting Game
XRP community members refresh their feeds hourly—another ETF decision could validate the entire ecosystem or send it back to regulatory purgatory. Market makers position themselves on both sides of the bet, creating volatility that would make traditional finance veterans blush.
Utility Over Hype
Cross-border settlement volumes quietly hit new highs while everyone watches the SEC circus. Banking partnerships that seemed like vaporware three years ago now process live transactions. The 'digital bridge' narrative finally gets some pavement.
Regulatory Chess Match
Every institutional player claims they saw this coming—conveniently forgetting how many dumped their XRP bags during the 2021 lawsuit. Now they're scrambling to rebuy positions at triple the price, because nothing says conviction like buying high after selling low.
The real utility play? Watching traditional finance slowly realize they should've been building instead of litigation-watching.
Utility Over Hype: Revisiting Garlinghouse’s Message
A recent video which was posted on the social media platform X by popular XRP commentator JackTheRippler ties back into an interview where Garlinghouse noted how trillions in capital could pour into XRP in the coming years. In that conversation, Garlinghouse explained that HYPE alone cannot sustain the value of any cryptocurrency, insisting instead that true growth comes from solving real-world problems and building a customer base.
These comments were made in a 2017 interview on CNBC’s Squawk Alley, at a time when cryptocurrencies were mostly valued on speculation alone. In the interview, Garlinghouse pointed out that XRP wasn’t just created to trade on exchanges but was meant to serve a real purpose, which is settling liquidity between banks. At the time, he noted that more than $27 trillion was sitting idle in correspondent banking accounts worldwide to facilitate payments between themselves.
RIPPLE CEO SAYS THAT #XRP SETTLES MONEY IN SECONDS!
TRILLIONS IN CAPITAL COULD POUR INTO XRPL. DRIVEN BY REAL TOKEN, BUILT TO TOKENIZE THE ENTIRE REAL ESTATE SECTOR! DYOR/NFA
GET REAL TOKEN HERE: https://t.co/kYx7u3Ko4Z pic.twitter.com/seidvGLqdy
— JackTheRippler © (@RippleXrpie) September 27, 2025
His vision was that XRP, with its ability to settle transactions in seconds, could free up that capital and make cross-border payments much more efficient. “We use this digital asset called XRP to settle liquidity needs between banks,” he said.
Even though those words were spoken years ago, they still fit into today’s conversations about XRP. Its adoption potential in the worldwide financial system continues to be the foundation of why many investors believe XRP can stand apart from other cryptocurrencies.
Countdown To US SEC’s Spot XRP ETF Decision
The attention surrounding XRP nowadays is shifting to the regulatory front, with many investors awaiting the outcome of pending Spot XRP ETF applications. After Bitcoin and ethereum won approval for similar products, many see XRP as the next logical step given its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency.
The US SEC has introduced new listing standards designed to speed up crypto ETF approvals, cutting the review window to 75 days or less. Grayscale’s filing is due for a decision on October 18, followed by 21Shares on October 19, Bitwise on October 20, CoinShares and Canary Capital on October 23, and WisdomTree on October 24.
The eventual launch of a Spot XRP ETF could be the turning point that helps the cryptocurrency take its place alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum in traditional finance.
At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.79.
Featured image from Istockphoto, chart from TradingView
