Ripple Executive Warns XRP Must Catch Solana's Speed as Staking Platforms Offer Dual Strategy

A senior Ripple executive has issued a stark warning about XRP's competitive position, stating that for the token to remain relevant in the next market cycle, its execution speed must catch up to Solana. Luke Judges, a Ripple executive with prior Solana development experience, published an analysis highlighting a critical performance gap.

Judges identified three key factors behind Solana's dominance in DeFi: exceptional execution speed, a highly optimized developer experience, and an ecosystem designed for rapid iteration. He noted that Solana's success is driven by practical engineering and fast-paced development, not flawless technology.

The analysis outlined clear challenges for the XRP Ledger (XRPL): its programmability lags behind Solidity and Rust smart-contract environments, its validator incentive model needs reform to attract participants, and its ecosystem suffers from a lack of growth momentum with few dApps, a small developer base, and minimal DeFi activity. Judges concluded that while XRP has strong infrastructure and institutional use cases, its technical evolution could take multiple quarters or even years, posing a significant risk in a market where speed is paramount.

In response to this uncertainty, a dual investment strategy is gaining traction among XRP holders: maintaining long-term exposure to XRP while generating daily crypto income through staking platforms. Two specific platforms, SolStaking and XRPstaking, are being promoted for this purpose.

SolStaking is described as a fully automated system requiring no technical setup, staking hardware, or manual management. It promises users the ability to earn over 800 XRP per day through advanced staking cycles, creating a predictable income stream independent of market volatility. The platform claims to offer institutional-grade security with continuous monitoring and multi-layer protection.

XRPstaking is presented as a new DeFi protocol built by Sentora and powered by the Flare Network. It allows XRP holders to stake tokens into pools to earn rewards while providing on-chain protection against DeFi hacks. The protocol aims to integrate clean energy and smart computing power, using AI computing chip technology and a cloud-based, green energy data center architecture. It offers various staking plans with different principals, terms, and profit projections, including options for LTC, DOGE, ETH, and USDT.