Ripple’s Schwartz Claps Back at XRPL Volume Critics—Reveals Why Offchain Bank Settlements Are the Real Game

Ripple's CTO David Schwartz isn’t sweating the ‘low’ XRPL volume chatter. Instead, he’s spotlighting the elephant in the room: banks are quietly settling billions offchain—while still leaning on Ripple’s tech.

Why the disconnect? Legacy finance loves blockchain efficiency… just not the transparency. Schwartz’s take? ‘Volume metrics miss the real story.’ Cue eye-rolls from crypto purists.

Meanwhile, TradFi institutions keep playing both sides—adopting Ripple’s rails for speed but dodging public ledgers like a CBDC compliance meeting. Classic banking: innovate in the shadows, report growth in press releases.

Bottom line: If you’re measuring XRPL’s success by onchain volume alone, you’re falling for the oldest trick in finance—vanity metrics.

Ripple co-founder David Schwartz addressed concerns over a 30-40% decline in XRP Ledger (XRPL) activity, explaining that many banking partners settle transactions offchain. While Ripple claims hundreds of bank collaborations, institutional use primarily occurs outside the blockchain, contributing to lower onchain volume. This offchain settlement approach raises ongoing transparency questions about XRPL usage and the true scale of Ripple’s network operations in the banking sector.