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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has described XRP as potentially the best bridge asset for some cross border payments, while acknowledging that stablecoins may better address other customer requirements. His point was not that one asset should dominate every transaction.

Garlinghouse made the remarks during Faena Rose’s January 22 program, The Transformative Power of Crypto Assets. Clips from that conversation resurfaced on social media on September 24, more than eight months after the original discussion.

The timing gave the comments renewed visibility, but the underlying argument was conditional. Garlinghouse said XRP is not necessarily the best asset for every payment use case and rejected an XRP only approach to utility.

He also pushed back against being characterized as an XRP maximalist. Instead, he presented utility as the standard for deciding which technology or settlement asset should be used for a particular customer transaction.

That position reflects the current structure of Ripple Payments. The platform supports settlement through RLUSD, USDC, USDT, or fiat, with the choice depending on a business’s requirements and the jurisdictions where those options are available.

Ripple says its settlement layer is separated from any single issuer’s token. That structure allows additional stablecoins to be added to the platform without requiring the company to rebuild the underlying infrastructure.

The company claims its network manages collections, digital asset conversion, and payouts across more than 60 markets. Ripple also says the network has processed more than $100 billion in payment volume.

XRP and RLUSD serve different functions within this wider framework. XRP trades freely without an issuer fixing its market price, while Ripple’s documentation identifies it as the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger.

Ripple describes XRP as a bridge asset designed to facilitate fast, low cost cross border transactions. That function supports the company’s On Demand Liquidity model, which does not require pre funded nostro accounts.

Under that model, a source currency is converted into XRP before moving between markets. The XRP is then converted into the destination currency, allowing it to act as an intermediary asset during the payment process.

RLUSD has a different design and purpose. Ripple describes it as a dollar backed asset for payments, remittances, treasury flows, and settlement, supported one to one by cash deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

The stablecoin is redeemable for U.S. dollars and is intended to maintain a value of one dollar. By contrast, XRP’s price moves with the market, creating a meaningful distinction between the two assets.

That distinction helps explain why a corporate treasurer moving predictable settlement volume might choose RLUSD instead of accepting market price exposure. It also explains why XRP could remain useful when a bridge asset is the better fit.

The same asset choice logic is emerging across the broader industry as stablecoins take a larger role in payment rails beyond any single network. Ripple’s model gives businesses multiple settlement options rather than forcing every transaction through one token.

Garlinghouse’s January comments came before the Senate’s September 15 cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The vote failed by 49 votes to 50, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance H.R. 3633.

Ripple called the result a missed opportunity that same day. The company said the outcome did not change its position on XRP’s regulatory status, citing a March 2026 interpretation from the SEC and CFTC that identifies XRP as a digital commodity.

That policy fight is separate from Garlinghouse’s argument about choosing assets according to customer needs. His comments described a payments business using multiple settlement assets, not a retreat from XRP ahead of a legislative setback that had not yet occurred.

For traders, the practical point is that Ripple’s product infrastructure already embodies this multi asset position. The resurfaced commentary reflects a model built months earlier, rather than announcing a new pivot away from XRP or its bridge asset role.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.