Ripple has announced that its platform now connects to 13,000 banks and processes over $12.5 trillion in annual payment volume, sparking fresh speculation about a potential XRP breakout. The figures, released by Ripple on April 30, 2026, largely stem from the company's $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury in 2025, which brought an established network of financial institutions under Ripple's umbrella. Veteran investor Patrick L. Riley contextualized the 13,000-bank figure, noting that with roughly 4,000-plus banks and a similar number of credit unions in the US alone, the total implies a wide international reach, particularly across Western financial systems.
However, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has pushed back against hype surrounding the announcement. In a series of statements on May 3, 2026, Schwartz denied any suggestion that Ripple's 1,700 non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) hide secret, large-scale adoption plans. He stated unequivocally, "I have never signed, and would never sign, any agreement that requires me to lie," adding that he chooses silence over providing inaccurate information when bound by confidentiality. Schwartz described the NDAs as standard business practice and called claims of massive undisclosed events "almost always completely false."
Despite Schwartz's clarifications, the numbers have reignited bullish sentiment among XRP supporters. Riley floated a speculative framework suggesting XRP could be worth $625 per token if 20 billion XRP were responsible for moving all $12.5 trillion in annual flows — a stark contrast to XRP's current trading price of around $1.37. Analysts warn that such projections rest on shaky assumptions about liquidity use and token velocity, and it remains unclear what share of that $12.5 trillion actually moves through XRP versus Ripple's broader infrastructure. Ripple's payment system does not always require XRP to function.
Schwartz also addressed unrealistic price predictions directly, challenging the $10,000 XRP forecast. He argued that if wealthy investors saw even a 1% chance of XRP reaching $10,000, prices would reflect that expectation, with XRP already trading near $20. He dismissed claims that Ripple holds a hidden plan to artificially raise XRP's value and rejected suggestions that burning escrowed XRP would materially affect price movements, comparing XRP's performance with Bitcoin over similar time frames.
