Ripple CTO: XRP, XRPL, and RLUSD Are Forming a Full Financial System

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Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has confirmed that the company is actively building a comprehensive financial system using the XRP Ledger (XRPL), XRP, and its new stablecoin, RLUSD. Speaking at the recent XRP Las Vegas event, Schwartz endorsed a growing narrative within the XRP community: Ripple is no longer just a payments-focused company—it’s laying the groundwork for an entire decentralised financial infrastructure.

A Financial Architecture Built on Three Core Pillars

Crypto reporter Vincent Scott introduced the concept during the event, proposing a framework that describes Ripple’s ecosystem as a self-sustaining financial system. According to Scott, this system revolves around three interconnected pillars:

RLUSD as the unit of account
XRP as the medium of exchange and transaction fee asset
XRPL as the underlying decentralised infrastructure

Schwartz agreed with this framework, stating clearly, “Yes, you can consider those things a financial system.” His confirmation sparked discussions around Ripple’s broader vision and the transformation of its role in the global financial ecosystem.

Expanding Beyond Cross-Border Payments

Ripple originally made its name by enabling fast and affordable cross-border transactions using XRP. However, Schwartz’s comments signal a more ambitious roadmap. In follow-up remarks, he outlined Ripple’s intention to support additional financial services, including investments, loans, and everyday payments, within its native ecosystem.

Well we certainly are at a crossroads here.

Okay so those that say I am lying or let’s take it with “a grain of salt” or I “am pulling their leg”;

let’s make a deal. A test of character.

Repost and like this

so we can get @JoelKatz to kindly affirm that this happened.… https://t.co/fEFvur5wEE
— VincentScott (@VincentSco72192) June 3, 2025

The inclusion of RLUSD in this ecosystem supports that goal. As a stable and scalable settlement asset, RLUSD can facilitate daily retail transactions, offer price stability, and serve as the foundation for lending and investment products, all on-chain.

Community Confirms and Validates the Vision

Initially, Scott’s report went unnoticed, drawing scepticism due to the lack of official confirmation. However, after public requests for clarity, Schwartz acknowledged the interaction and confirmed the accuracy of Scott’s framework via X (formerly Twitter). His confirmation added legitimacy to the idea that Ripple is transitioning from a remittance solution to a comprehensive financial service provider powered by blockchain.

We're on Twitter, follow us to connect with us: @Cryptoboom
— Cryptoboom (@Cryptoboom29884) April 15, 2024

XRP’s Role: Still Central, But Not Alone

Community discussions at the event also raised important questions about the evolving utility of XRP. Ricky Tan, a known member of the XRP community, asked Schwartz if the ecosystem was shifting its focus away from XRP toward other assets on the XRPL.

In response, Schwartz clarified that while XRP remains central to XRPL, the network has grown to support a wider range of assets, including stablecoins, tokenised real-world assets, and soon, on-chain lending instruments.

Schwartz emphasised XRP’s unique features within XRPL:

It’s the only asset all accounts can receive
It operates without a counterparty
It’s the first choice in liquidity pathfinding algorithms
It’s the exclusive asset used to pay transaction fees
Autobridging mechanisms prioritise it for trade execution

These characteristics make XRP integral to the network’s function, even as XRPL expands to accommodate diverse financial instruments.

Measuring Value: XRP vs. XRPL

Despite these clear advantages, Schwartz admitted that quantifying how much of XRP’s market value comes from actual XRPL utility remains a challenge. He noted that while XRP plays a foundational role, measuring the direct correlation between XRPL’s activity and XRP’s price is difficult.

Nevertheless, the key, according to Schwartz, is to focus on value creation within the XRPL. As more financial services migrate onto the ledger and as new assets are launched, the resulting utility could contribute significantly to XRP’s long-term valuation.

Final Thoughts

Ripple is no longer just a payments facilitator. With XRP, XRPL, and RLUSD working in harmony, the company is quietly building a decentralised, scalable alternative to traditional financial systems. Ripple’s strategy is becoming clearer: dominate financial infrastructure, not through replacement, but through innovation and integration.

As Ripple’s vision unfolds, the XRPL community and broader crypto industry will be watching closely to see how this blockchain-native financial system reshapes global finance in the coming years.