Amid Bitcoin and Stablecoin Growth, what will happen to "crypto projects"

XRP was launched in 2012 with the aim of facilitating fast, low-cost international payments. Ripple Labs, the company behind it, positioned XRP as a bridge currency for financial institutions, offering an alternative to SWIFT for cross-border settlements. At the time, Bitcoin was still seen largely as a speculative asset, and stablecoins had not yet achieved traction.

Today, the payments landscape has changed dramatically. Dollar-backed stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) now dominate on-chain settlements and dollar-denominated transactions. With fast settlement times and minimal volatility, they are widely used in remittances, trade finance, and decentralised finance. According to data from Visa and Circle, USDC processed over $200 billion in payment volume in Q2 2023 alone.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is no longer just a store of value. Its Layer 1 solution, the Lightning Network, offers near-instant payments with fees measured in satoshis, and is gaining adoption in emerging markets, merchant services, and even international payroll.

Companies like Strike and Blink are using Lightning to power dollar-equivalent remittances that settle via Bitcoin rails.

In this environment, XRP's original pitch: a fast, low-fee asset for cross-border payments appears increasingly redundant. While Ripple continues to pursue institutional partnerships, its use of XRP in these arrangements is often unclear or minimal.

The SEC's ongoing case against Ripple has also clouded XRP's regulatory standing in the US, further limiting adoption.

Moreover, XRP lacks the decentralisation and censorship resistance of Bitcoin, and does not offer the price stability of dollar-pegged stablecoins. This leaves it caught between two clearly defined monetary use cases, sound money and fiat stability, without delivering on either.

Unless Ripple can carve out a distinct, real-world use case that leverages XRP in a scalable and regulatory-compliant way, the asset risks fading into irrelevance amid the maturation of Bitcoin and stablecoin-based settlement systems.

Can crypto projects like XRP survive? We think not, it's only a matter of time.