From time to time, a bold idea emerges that challenges common assumptions. This week, such an idea came from veteran macro analyst Dr. Jim Willie, who argues that XRP was never designed to trade like a typical cryptocurrency.
According to Willie, XRP isn’t competing with banks at all. Instead, it’s being positioned as an invisible but essential mechanism for moving large sums of money between major financial institutions smoothly and efficiently.
More Infrastructure Than Investment
To explain his point, Willie compared XRP to email in its early days. When email first appeared, it seemed insignificant and experimental. Few people cared who controlled the systems behind it. But once email became indispensable, the real value lay in the infrastructure enabling it.
He believes
$XRP XRP occupies a similar role today. It’s not meant to attract consumer excitement or speculation. Rather, it functions quietly in the background as a foundational component of global financial systems.
If Ripple succeeds in becoming a trusted compliance and messaging layer for institutions, XRP would naturally serve as the settlement asset beneath it. In that context, price isn’t driven by hype—it’s driven by necessity.
A Valuation Set in Advance
This is where Willie’s claim becomes controversial. He suggests that XRP’s eventual price won’t be determined by typical market forces on crypto exchanges. Instead, he believes major financial institutions agreed on its valuation long ago to ensure it could handle the scale of global money movement.
In his view,
$XRP ’s price had to be extremely high—not for speculation, but because a low valuation wouldn’t be practical for settling massive international transactions.
As Willie put it, XRP’s price won’t be discovered through supply and demand on platforms like Coinbase. He argues it will reflect a predetermined figure—one so large it will shock most observers—chosen by powerful corporations and financial entities to serve as a universal bridge asset for global payments.
Why This Moment Is Critical
Willie also notes that global financial stress is increasing. Banks are under pressure, liquidity is constrained, and slow settlement systems are becoming more costly. He believes XRP and similar technologies were created precisely for times like these.
If the global financial infrastructure needs a rapid upgrade, assets already compatible with the system may no longer be treated as experimental—and their value may change accordingly.
#EFT #XRP