Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen has reaffirmed the company's ambitious strategy to overhaul the global financial system, explicitly targeting the replacement of the SWIFT network and traditional correspondent banking. In a widely circulated interview shared on social media platform X, Larsen detailed a vision centered on the Interledger Protocol (ILP) and the XRP token as the core components for a new era of cross-border payments.
The plan hinges on three key pillars where XRP is positioned as the essential bridge currency. First, seamless interoperability is achieved through ILP, which connects disparate domestic payment systems like the United States' FedNow, Brazil's Pix, India's UPI, Europe's SCT Instant, Russia's FPS, and Canada's RTR without requiring changes to their existing infrastructure. XRP acts as the bridge asset for final settlements within this network.
Second, XRP provides unlimited, on-demand liquidity. Larsen emphasized that by leveraging XRP's deep market presence across hundreds of exchanges, payment providers can access necessary funds instantly without maintaining large, costly reserves in multiple foreign currencies. This addresses a major inefficiency in the current banking model.
Third, regulatory compliance is ensured through alignment with the ISO 20022 international standard for financial messaging. Ripple's payment infrastructure is fully compliant with this standard, facilitating smooth integration with existing financial institutions and easing adoption by businesses and regulators globally.
Larsen described this initiative as potentially triggering a "Cambrian explosion" in the financial sector, leading to rapid innovation and a more connected ecosystem. The confirmation of this strategy follows recent analysis by crypto researcher SMQKE, who highlighted that XRP's ability to meet these three requirements—interoperability, liquidity, and regulatory compliance—solidifies its role as a true bridge currency poised to reshape global financial transactions.
