Pundit: XRP Narrative Shifted from “We Will Replace SWIFT” to Complete Failure

The Narrative Shift

That shift in narrative reflects a growing tension within the XRP community. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz have faced increasing scrutiny over their public statements and their handling of XRP’s positioning.

Garlinghouse recently described XRP’s five-year outlook in institutional terms, while Schwartz pointed to mass retail adoption as the next milestone. Critics seized on that apparent contradiction, noting that XRP was always marketed around institutional use.

Executives Draw Criticism From All Directions

The criticism has come from multiple corners. Commentators have questioned why Garlinghouse was selling his XRP holdings while publicly encouraging others to buy. Others raised concerns about RLUSD absorbing the utility that XRP was originally promised in dollar-to-dollar transactions.

A reporter recently pressed Garlinghouse directly on why institutional demand appeared to be flowing toward RLUSD rather than XRP, and the community took notice.

Schwartz also came under fire for characterizing mass retail adoption as the goal, which many holders found inconsistent with years of messaging around banks and financial institutions as the primary use case.

XRP Struggles As the Market Pulls Back

The timing has added pressure. Following major victories for the Democrats in the midterm elections, the broader crypto market pulled back sharply, and XRP fell with it. At the time of her post, XRP traded at $1.19, down -9.32%.

For a community that has waited through years of legal battles and delayed adoption, the combination of declining price and leadership criticism has worn on sentiment.

The Community’s Response

The Democrats all voted against the CLARITY Act in the Senate, and now control both the House and Senate.

Just over a year ago, experts were certain that Ripple would replace SWIFT. That narrative has changed as XRP is struggling and the community is slowly turning against Ripple executives.