Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, during an ‘XRP in a Minute’ segment at XRP Las Vegas, positioned the XRP Ledger as a specialized payment infrastructure capable of settling transactions in three to five seconds for mere fractions of a penny.
He highlighted its processing of over 4 billion transactions since 2012 and its potential as the foundational layer for the Internet of Value. Garlinghouse emphasized the ledger’s technical architecture, tracing its origins to former Bitcoin developers, as XRP’s competitive advantage over Ethereum and Bitcoin.
This approach aims to shift XRP’s audience from retail investors to institutional players, such as treasury managers and banks. By framing XRP as a payment infrastructure rather than an investment, Ripple is seeking to engage mainstream financial services and expand beyond niche crypto payments.
Following Garlinghouse’s comments, XRP USD is trading at $1.38, down -3.2% on the day amid a broader market-wide cooldown that has wiped more than $100Bn from the total crypto market cap.
$XRP/USDT 4H Analysis
XRP is riding an ascending trendline since late March, currently testing that support after a rejection from the $1.48–$1.50 resistance zone
Key levels to watch:
– Support: Trendline $1.38
– Resistance: $1.48–$1.50? Holds trendline → move toward $1.48+… pic.twitter.com/ZrdGxcXgYe
— Iqshant Ladha | Cryptera (@theCryptera) May 18, 2026
Ripple Architecture and the Internet of Value: How Garlinghouse’s Payment-Focused Design Philosophy Actually Functions
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) uses a Byzantine Fault Tolerant algorithm and a Unique Node List to reach consensus every three to five seconds without mining.
This design eliminates the energy overhead of Bitcoin’s proof-of-work and the complexity of Ethereum, resulting in instant finality rather than the 10 minutes for Bitcoin or the 12–15 seconds for pre-rollup Ethereum.
XRPL can process nearly 1,500 transactions per second, far surpassing Bitcoin’s 7 TPS and Ethereum’s capacity, all while maintaining minimal transaction fees of about $0.0002. It was designed specifically for payments and liquidity flows, featuring financial primitives such as a decentralized exchange and payment channels, rather than a general-purpose platform like Ethereum.
Additionally, Ripple aligns with ISO 20022 standards, making XRP interoperable with existing banking systems. This focus on specialization distinguishes XRPL’s architecture from Ethereum’s.
Internet of Value Infrastructure: What the Payments-First Architecture Means for XRP’s Role in Institutional Settlement
Garlinghouse’s perspective highlights a shift in how institutional players view cross-border payments. SWIFT’s correspondent banking models rely on pre-funded Nostro and Vostro accounts, tying up capital, while Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) uses XRP as a real-time liquidity bridge, eliminating the need for pre-funding. XRP functions as a transient bridge currency, emphasizing transaction throughput over price appreciation.
RLUSD, a fiat-pegged stablecoin, supports value-stable settlements in transactions, with XRP handling bridge and fee functions, catering to risk-averse compliance frameworks. Ripple’s roadmap includes Hooks and EVM-compatible sidechains, expanding capabilities while focusing on payments.
However, the connection between Ripple’s infrastructure and XRP demand is largely potential. Most transactions on RippleNet utilize RLUSD and fiat channels, with ODL not yet generating substantial XRP demand. The next 12 to 18 months of ODL scaling data will clarify this.
Key indicators to watch include ODL corridor volume, especially in corridors where eliminating pre-funding offers significant savings. If XRP’s role in institutional workflows expands, it would validate Garlinghouse’s claims; if ODL volume remains low with RLUSD and fiat channels dominating, the gap between Ripple’s narrative and XRP’s utility will persist as a significant issue.
