Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently responded to criticism directed at XRP Ledger (XRPL), shutting down claims that the XRP had no real utility.

An X user argued that XRP has reached a massive market cap (currently at $140 billion) despite producing little value. The user further cited data from DeFiLlama, stating that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) logged only $44,000 in volume over 24 hours.

In response, the Ripple CTO dismissed the argument, stating that the referenced figure likely accounted for Automated Market Makers (AMMs) on XRPL, which are a "minuscule fraction of what people use XRP for."

As the conversation continued, another X user inquired about the XRP Ledger's other use cases. The Ripple CTO responded by highlighting a native functionality of XRP Ledger, which is a decentralized exchange. "You know the XRPL is a DEX, right?" Schwartz added.

XRP Ledger highlights

The XRP Ledger supports a variety of functions beyond just AMMs, including cross-currency and cross-border payments and tokenization, among others. Core value propositions of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) include native functionalities such as tokens, NFTs, a decentralized exchange (DEX), escrow functionality, embedded compliance and token management.

NFTs, like issued currencies (also known as native tokens), are built into the XRPL's core protocol and do not require smart contracts for creation or transfer. XLS-20 standardized NFTs in October 2022, delivering benefits like royalties and anti-spam measures.

Currently, 7,744,695 NFTs have been created using the XLS-20 standard. On Dec. 17, 2024, Ripple's USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, was launched on both the XRPL and Ethereum. The stablecoin is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. treasuries, and "other cash equivalents," with monthly third-party attestations.

The XRPL base layer does not presently support arbitrary smart contracts, which was an intentional design decision to promote security and stability over complexity. However, plans to introduce native smart contracts were announced in September 2024 and are making progress currently.