{"id":20294,"date":"2026-01-21T10:48:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/stablecoins-not-xrp-tipped-to-power-global-settlement-says-ripples-long\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T10:48:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:48:59","slug":"stablecoins-not-xrp-tipped-to-power-global-settlement-says-ripples-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/stablecoins-not-xrp-tipped-to-power-global-settlement-says-ripples-long\/","title":{"rendered":"Stablecoins, not XRP, tipped to power global settlement, says Ripple\u2019s Long"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Ripple\u2019s Monica Long says stablecoins will anchor global settlement as crypto enters a 2026 \u2018production era,\u2019 raising questions about XRP\u2019s role.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_c8c4a6d3d2763639278c134a70507327\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Monica Long says stablecoins will be the core settlement layer as Visa, Stripe and banks embed them into B2B payment flows.\u200b<\/li>\n<li>She predicts a 2026 \u2018production era\u2019 where ETFs, tokenized Treasuries, and custody deals pull Fortune 500 treasuries on\u2011chain.\u200b<\/li>\n<li>XRP holders question whether stablecoin\u2011led settlement sidelines XRP, while others argue bridge assets still matter for FX and interoperability.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>In a new thread on X, Ripple president Monica Long argues that \u201cstablecoins will be the foundation for global settlement, not an alternative rail,\u201d framing fiat\u2011pegged tokens as the backbone of cross\u2011border money movement rather than a side experiment. She points to Visa, Stripe and \u201cmajor institutions\u201d already \u201chard-wire[ing] them into payment flows,\u201d and identifies business\u2011to\u2011business transactions as \u201cthe growth engine \u2013 with corporates using digital dollars to unlock real-time liquidity and capital efficiency.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1\/ Stablecoins will be the foundation for global settlement, not an alternative rail. As Visa, Stripe and major institutions hard-wire them into payment flows, B2B is the growth engine \u2013 with corporates using digital dollars to unlock real-time liquidity and capital efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Monica Long (@MonicaLongSF) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MonicaLongSF\/status\/2013733025402454131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Long\u2019s thesis aligns with a broader post on Ripple\u2019s site, where she writes that within roughly five years, stablecoins will be \u201cfully integrated into global payment systems\u201d and function as the default settlement layer for incumbents as well as fintechs. In parallel, other analysts note that regulated stablecoins are increasingly being designed to plug directly into bank and card\u2011network rails, blurring the line between crypto infrastructure and traditional clearing systems.\u200b<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From speculation to operating layer<\/h2>\n<p>Long contends that the industry is exiting its purely speculative phase and entering what she calls crypto\u2019s \u201cproduction era.\u201d \u201cAfter one of crypto\u2019s most exciting years (and Ripple\u2019s), the industry is entering its production era,\u201d she writes, predicting that \u201cin 2026 we\u2019ll see the institutionalization of crypto \u2014 trusted infrastructure and real utility will push banks, corporates, and providers from pilots to scale.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrypto is no longer speculative \u2013 it\u2019s becoming the operating layer of modern finance,\u201d she adds in a follow\u2011up post, forecasting that around 50% of Fortune 500 firms will have some form of digital asset exposure or a formal \u201cDAT strategy\u201d by 2026. That exposure, she suggests, will include tokenized assets, on\u2011chain Treasury bills, stablecoins and \u201cprogrammable financial\u201d instruments embedded directly into corporate treasury and capital\u2011markets workflows.\u200b<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ETFs, M&amp;A and custody consolidation<\/h2>\n<p>The Ripple president also highlights capital\u2011markets access as a second major driver of institutionalization, arguing that crypto exchange\u2011traded funds have \u201caccelerating exposure, yet only represent a small share of the broader market, underscoring room for major growth.\u201d Long expects more of the traditional ETF investor base to treat these products as a bridge into on\u2011chain collateral and tokenized yields, especially as spot products expand beyond bitcoin and ether.\u200b<\/p>\n<p>On the structural side, she cites roughly 8.6 billion dollars in crypto M&amp;A volume in 2025 as evidence of a maturing market and predicts custody will be \u201cthe next major consolidation driver.\u201d As safekeeping of digital assets commoditizes, Long forecasts \u201cvertical integration and multi-custodian strategies,\u201d with about half of the world\u2019s top 50 banks expected to formalize at least one digital\u2011asset custody arrangement by 2026.\u200b<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tension around XRP and stablecoins<\/h2>\n<p>Long\u2019s remarks have stirred debate inside Ripple\u2019s own community, particularly around the role of XRP in a world anchored by stablecoins. One reply that has gained traction asks, \u201cThen what about XRP? For a long time, it has been widely discussed that XRP is intended to be used as a global settlement asset,\u201d warning that such statements \u201cfeel misleading and confusing\u201d and risk discouraging holders.\u200b<\/p>\n<p>Another user voices more pointed frustration: \u201cSo I need to sell my xrp? All I hear is stable coins. I\u2019m beginning to think xrp was just so retail could fund ripples business.\u201d Supporters counter that \u201cstable coins is what will bring business on chain\u201d and that the proliferation of fiat\u2011pegged tokens could actually increase demand for \u201ca settlement bridge converting stable coins eg RLUSD to euros etc,\u201d implicitly preserving a role for neutral bridge assets and interoperable ledgers.\u200b<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2026 as an institutional inflection point<\/h2>\n<p>Long\u2019s written outlook at Ripple ties these themes together, describing 2026 as a defining year in which \u201cstablecoins will power global settlement,\u201d tokenized assets will migrate onto institutional balance sheets and custody will \u201canchor trust\u201d for banks, asset managers and corporates. She also emphasizes the growing intersection of blockchain and AI in automating back\u2011office processes that \u201ctoday hold markets back,\u201d a trend that mirrors recent moves by exchanges and trading firms to pair algorithmic execution with on\u2011chain settlement.\u200b<\/p>\n<p>That institutional pivot comes amid parallel developments across the industry, from the launch of new spot and leveraged crypto ETFs to banks piloting tokenized deposits and central\u2011bank digital currency experiments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. For Ripple, which has built its brand around cross\u2011border payments and enterprise blockchain, Long\u2019s message is clear: the next phase of growth will be measured less by token price action and more by how deeply crypto infrastructure is woven into the balance sheets and payment flows of the legacy financial system.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ripple\u2019s Monica Long says stablecoins will anchor global settlement as crypto enters a 2026 \u2018production era,\u2019 raising questions about XRP\u2019s role. Summary Monica Long says stablecoins will be the core&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20295,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20294\/revisions\/20295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}