Brad Garlinghouse: XRP Has Surpassed Bitcoin in Payments

XRP Beats Bitcoin at Its Own Game — Payments

"Bitcoin may be the first, but being first doesn't mean being the best — not when it comes to payments," says Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

XRP Isn't Playing Catch-Up — It's Leading in Payments
Bitcoin's been around for over a decade, and it's built a name like Coca-Cola — big, iconic, but not always the most practical. According to Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse, it's time for a modern solution. And in his view, that's XRP. While Bitcoin struggles under the weight of its own fees and sluggish network, XRP zips ahead — faster, cheaper, and more tailored for the real-world money movement that business demands today.

Why Bitcoin Isn't Cutting It Anymore
You might think Bitcoin is digital gold — and that's fine, if you're storing value. But when it comes to moving money, it's like mailing bricks. High transaction fees and clunky processing times make it a poor tool for what Garlinghouse calls "secure, global payments." Imagine wiring $200 to the Philippines and losing $20 in fees — that's Bitcoin for you. XRP, on the other hand? Think of it as Venmo on turbocharge.

XRP Speeds Past Bitcoin — One Transaction at a Time
Ripple's network processes payments 1,000 times faster and cheaper than Bitcoin. That's not marketing fluff — that's real throughput. And it's why XRP is quickly becoming the currency of choice for international transfers. Whether you're a freelancer in Manila or a small business in Nairobi, you don't want to wait days for a payment to settle. You want the funds instantly. XRP delivers that. No miners. No bottlenecks. No frozen correspondent accounts in a dusty bank ledger.

Fixing the Broken Cross-Border Banking Model
Garlinghouse makes no bones about it: the current banking system for international payments is archaic. Companies are forced to pre-fund accounts just to ensure payments clear. It's like needing to deposit $5,000 in every country you plan to send money to — a nightmare for liquidity. XRP eliminates this pre-funding mess. Instead of money sitting idle, it flows in real-time. Garlinghouse paints a picture of a global financial engine where money moves with the same ease as a WhatsApp message.

The Internet Analogy: Ripple as the TCP/IP of Payments
Garlinghouse isn't just talking transactions — he's talking infrastructure. He compares Ripple's mission to the development of internet protocols like TCP/IP and HTTP, which turned a once-disconnected web into a global communications grid. That's what Ripple wants for money. A seamless protocol for value transfer, not built on mining rigs and guesswork, but on purpose-driven engineering that knows what the future needs.

Energy Matters: XRP Is Green, Bitcoin Is Burning Cash
There's also the matter of energy — and Bitcoin's hungry. Its Proof-of-Work model burns through electricity like there's no tomorrow. XRP? It doesn't mine. No PoW. That means less energy consumed and more transactions per second — a win-win for businesses and the planet. In a world rapidly moving toward ESG investing and sustainability metrics, Ripple's energy profile might just be its silent ace.

XRP Is Not Just an Asset — It's Infrastructure in Motion
Unlike Bitcoin, XRP isn't trying to be a digital fortress. It's a functional tool, a real-world asset used by banks, corporations, and freelancers alike. Garlinghouse emphasizes that Ripple isn't chasing hype — it's building the pipes through which tomorrow's payments will flow. And while Bitcoin clings to its store-of-value narrative, XRP is racing toward practical utility.

Crypto for the Real World, Not Just the Wealthy Few
The beauty of Ripple's vision is its accessibility. XRP isn't reserved for whales or Wall Street. It's for everyday use — for the worker sending cash home, the entrepreneur receiving cross-border invoices, or the startup paying overseas talent. It makes crypto functional — not just valuable.

Banking's Old Guard Can't Keep Up

Garlinghouse closes with a pointed message: traditional banks are already behind. Their systems were built in a different era — slow, fragmented, fee-heavy. If they don't evolve with tools like XRP, they'll become obsolete relics, like phone booths in a world of smartphones.