Ripple CTO David Schwartz Declares XRP Ledger the Bedrock for Institutional DeFi Revolution

Wall Street's next playground just went blockchain-native.

Ripple's chief technology officer David Schwartz positions the XRP Ledger as the foundational infrastructure poised to onboard institutional capital into decentralized finance. This isn't another speculative crypto narrative—it's about rebuilding financial rails for entities that move billions.

The Institutional Gateway

XRP Ledger's architecture bypasses traditional settlement bottlenecks that plague legacy systems. Its consensus mechanism cuts transaction finality to seconds while handling throughput that makes traditional finance infrastructure look like dial-up. Financial institutions exploring DeFi need regulatory clarity and enterprise-grade reliability—not just yield farming opportunities.

DeFi Without the Drama

While Ethereum struggles with gas fees and newer chains face decentralization tradeoffs, XRP Ledger offers something institutional players actually care about: predictable performance. The ledger's built-in decentralized exchange and tokenization capabilities provide the primitive building blocks for compliant financial products—something that might actually make sense to risk managers beyond the crypto bubble.

Because nothing says 'institutional grade' like convincing hedge funds to trust technology that's still explaining itself to the SEC. The revolution will be properly collateralized.

• Ripple CTO David Schwartz believes DeFi will take a significant share of traditional finance in the coming years.
• Tokenized assets and on-chain credit are central to bridging TradFi with decentralized systems.
• Institutional adoption and blockchain neutrality can work together to expand financial innovation.

RippleX recently opened the first episode of its Onchain Economy series with Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, who is also known as one of the co-creators of the XRP Ledger.

In his remarks, Schwartz stressed that financial technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and blockchain stands at the center of this transformation.

He noted that large corporations, including companies like Amazon and Uber, demand more efficient and tailored financial services than the current banking system can provide. This rising demand, he explained, is why blockchain-based systems are well-positioned to deliver practical solutions.

Schwartz emphasized that decentralized finance, or DeFi, has the potential to take a significant portion of the traditional finance market over the next several years.

However, he underlined that the blockchain sector cannot remain focused only on speculative assets or collectibles. Instead, it must create real-world financial products that meet the expectations of both businesses and consumers.

XRP Ledger Built for Tokenized Assets

Schwartz is of the opinion that tokenization will help close the gap between traditional finance and DeFi. Traditional assets such as real estate portfolios, loans, and even real assets are being developed as blockchain-based products.

Tokenizing these assets allows institutions to unlock liquidity, generate efficiency, and provide new investor opportunities.

He mentioned that the XRP Ledger was actually created specifically for such applications. In its speed, scalability, and reliability, it provides a basis for tokenized assets and credit.

These technologies, according to him, will FORM the foundation of an inclusive financial system. Decentralized platforms paired with an institution’s resources could bring about an equitable system whereby both parties profit.

Debate Over Institutional Adoption and Decentralization

One of the major concerns that is expressed in the debate over institutional adoption is that institutional adoption is harmful to decentralization. Schwartz argued the opposite.

He noted that more institutions are getting attracted towards LAYER one blockchain because of its open structure and neutrality. Decentralized blockchains offer a level playing ground as opposed to conventional systems that tend to favor a few players.

For institutions, neutrality is a pro and not a con. It enables them to use networks while being assured of neither bias nor central control; hence the preference for decentralized platforms at the end of the day.

Schwartz’s analysis made him confident that such a phenomenon will continue to drive phenomenal growth throughout the blockchain ecosystem, with institutional DeFi being a part of the financial system’s tomorrow.

Related Reading : XRP Ledger Rockets Into Top 10 With $1B Stablecoin Surge, Ripple Pushes Institutional DeFi