Stablecoins, Not XRP, Tipped to Power Global Settlement, Says Ripple's Long

Source: Cryptonews Original Title: Stablecoins, not XRP, tipped to power global settlement, says Ripple’s Long Original Link:

The Case for Stablecoins as Settlement Foundation

Ripple president Monica Long argues that “stablecoins will be the foundation for global settlement, not an alternative rail,” framing fiat-pegged tokens as the backbone of cross-border money movement. She highlights that major payment processors and institutions are already embedding stablecoins into payment flows, with business-to-business transactions serving as the primary growth engine. Corporates are using digital dollars to unlock real-time liquidity and capital efficiency.

Long’s thesis aligns with broader industry observations that regulated stablecoins are increasingly designed to integrate directly into bank and card-network rails, blurring the distinction between crypto infrastructure and traditional clearing systems. Within roughly five years, stablecoins are expected to be fully integrated into global payment systems and function as the default settlement layer for both incumbents and fintechs.

Crypto’s Transition to Production Era

Long contends that the industry is exiting its speculative phase and entering what she terms crypto’s “production era.” She predicts that in 2026, the industry will see significant institutionalization, with “trusted infrastructure and real utility” pushing banks, corporates and providers from pilots to scale.

“Crypto is no longer speculative – it’s becoming the operating layer of modern finance,” Long states, forecasting that approximately 50% of Fortune 500 firms will have some form of digital asset exposure or a formal digital asset strategy by 2026. This exposure is expected to include tokenized assets, on-chain Treasury bills, stablecoins and programmable financial instruments embedded directly into corporate treasury and capital-markets workflows.

Capital Markets and Custody Consolidation

Long identifies capital-markets access as a major driver of institutionalization. Crypto exchange-traded funds show accelerating exposure yet represent only a small share of the broader market, suggesting significant room for growth. She expects traditional ETF investors to increasingly treat these products as a bridge into on-chain collateral and tokenized yields.

On the structural side, approximately 8.6 billion dollars in crypto M&A volume in 2025 demonstrates market maturation. Long predicts custody will be “the next major consolidation driver,” with vertical integration and multi-custodian strategies becoming standard. About half of the world’s top 50 banks are expected to formalize at least one digital-asset custody arrangement by 2026.

The XRP Question

Long’s remarks have sparked debate within the community regarding XRP’s role in a stablecoin-anchored settlement landscape. Some community members question whether stablecoin-led settlement marginalizes XRP, which has long been discussed as a potential global settlement asset. Others argue that bridge assets still matter for foreign exchange conversion and interoperability, suggesting that neutral settlement tokens could convert stablecoins between different currencies and ledgers, preserving utility for assets like XRP.

2026 as an Institutional Inflection Point

Long describes 2026 as a defining year in which stablecoins will power global settlement, tokenized assets will migrate onto institutional balance sheets and custody will anchor trust for banks, asset managers and corporates. She emphasizes the growing intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence in automating back-office processes.

This institutional pivot coincides with parallel developments across the industry, from the launch of new spot and leveraged crypto ETFs to banks piloting tokenized deposits and central-bank digital currency experiments globally. For companies focused on cross-border payments and enterprise blockchain, the next growth phase will be measured not by token price action but by how deeply crypto infrastructure integrates into the balance sheets and payment flows of the traditional financial system.