XRP challenges the dominance of Swift! RealFi releases 650 trillion of global market liquidity.

The cryptocurrency space is buzzing with discussions about XRP potentially becoming a viable alternative to the US Swift payment system. If approved, this would open the door for XRP to enter a market worth up to $1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, the RealFi ecosystem is preparing to announce a significant update regarding its Real Token built on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which aims to unlock liquidity in a global market valued at $650 trillion.

Feasibility Analysis of XRP Challenging the Dominance of Swift

XRP is being evaluated as a potential replacement for the U.S. Swift system. This seemingly radical proposal actually has its technical and economic foundations. Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is currently the dominant system for cross-border payments, processing trillions of dollars in transactions every day. However, the Swift system has obvious flaws: transaction settlement takes 3 to 5 business days, fees are high (usually accounting for 3-5% of the transaction amount), and there is a lack of real-time transparency.

The XRP Ledger offers a completely different solution. Transactions are settled within 3 to 5 seconds, with fees typically under $0.01, and all transactions are recorded on a public blockchain, providing complete transparency. These technological advantages enable XRP to theoretically handle the current transaction volume of Swift while significantly reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

In terms of market size, the global cross-border payment market is approximately $1.5 trillion, which is the direct market that XRP would enter if it could replace Swift. However, the grander vision is the $650 trillion global liquidity market targeted by RealFi. This figure includes all financial assets worldwide, from stocks and bonds to real estate and commodity futures. If Real Token can tokenize these assets on XRPL, XRP will become the underlying settlement layer for global finance.

However, challenging Swift is not an easy task. Swift has over 11,000 member financial institutions across more than 200 countries. This network effect and resistance from vested interests are the biggest obstacles faced by XRP. Additionally, regulators remain cautious about the role of crypto assets in critical financial infrastructure, as evidenced by Ripple's long-standing lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Nevertheless, Ripple has established partnerships with hundreds of financial institutions globally, including Santander, Standard Chartered, and SBI Holdings. The success stories of these early adopters provide empirical support for the widespread adoption of XRP. If the U.S. government or major financial institutions officially adopt XRP as an alternative to SWIFT, it will become a milestone for blockchain technology entering mainstream finance.

The Revolutionary Structure of RealFi and Real Token

(Source: RealFi)

RealFi aims to combine traditional finance with blockchain technology. Its Real Token will enable institutions and individuals to transfer funds effectively and securely on the XRPL platform. Reports indicate that there could be as much as $654.39 trillion in funds flowing into the XRP ledger through the Real Token. This will help enhance transparency, reduce costs, and make financial transactions for global businesses more convenient.

The core innovation of Real Token lies in the tokenization of traditional financial assets. Tokenization refers to the conversion of ownership of physical assets or financial instruments into digital tokens on the blockchain. For example, a commercial property worth 10 million dollars can be divided into 10 million Real Tokens, with each token representing 1 dollar of ownership. This division allows assets that originally had very low liquidity (such as real estate) to be freely traded like stocks.

The technical characteristics of the XRP Ledger make it an ideal platform for Real Token. The XRPL can process about 1500 transactions per second, with a theoretical peak of 65000 transactions, far exceeding the 15-30 TPS of the Ethereum mainnet. More importantly, the XRPL natively supports asset issuance and decentralized exchange (DEX) functions, allowing developers to issue tokenized assets without deploying complex smart contracts.

Potential Application Scenarios of Real Token

Cross-Border Remittance: Workers can instantly send their wages from overseas back home, with fees close to zero.

Trade Financing: Enterprises can tokenize accounts receivable to obtain liquidity immediately.

Real Estate Investment: Retail investors can purchase fractional ownership of commercial properties.

Securities Settlement: Stock and bond transactions can be settled instantly, eliminating the T+2 delay.

The figure of 654.39 trillion dollars represents the total of global financial assets. According to data from the World Economic Forum, the total value of global financial assets in 2024 is estimated to be around 650 trillion dollars, including stocks (approximately 100 trillion), bonds (approximately 120 trillion), bank deposits (approximately 200 trillion), and real estate (approximately 230 trillion). RealFi's ambition is to gradually tokenize these assets and circulate them on the XRPL.

Of course, achieving this vision requires overcoming significant regulatory and technical challenges. The legal status of tokenized assets is not yet fully clarified in various countries, and the issuance and trading of security tokens must comply with strict financial regulations. Furthermore, migrating hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of assets onto the blockchain requires time, education, and substantial infrastructure development.

Market Expectations and Impact Announced on November 17

The RealFi team plans to make a major announcement on November 17. At that time, RealFi may announce the launch details of the Real Token and how it will work in conjunction with XRP. Many investors expect that this move will attract institutional and retail investors, thereby increasing the popularity of XRP and the Real Token.

This news has caused a great stir in the Crypto Assets market. Traders are preparing for a potential surge in trading volume on the XRP Ledger. Historically, major announcements often trigger price volatility. If the announcement on November 17 meets or exceeds market expectations, XRP may see a significant price increase. Conversely, if the announcement is disappointing or lacks substantial progress, it could trigger a sell-off due to “news exhaustion.”

The market expectations for this announcement include several key elements. First, the specific technical specifications and issuance details of the Real Token, including total supply, distribution mechanism, and lock-up terms. Second, the disclosure of early partners and application scenarios, especially whether mainstream financial institutions or large enterprises are involved. Third, the integration method with XRP, whether Real Token transactions require the use of XRP as a bridging currency or for fee payments.

Experts say that if XRP replaces Swift or Real Token and gains widespread adoption, its price could experience significant fluctuations. Some predictions even suggest that its price could exceed $3000 per coin. This prediction is based on the following logic: if XRP becomes the primary settlement currency in the $1.5 trillion cross-border payment market, assuming that 5% of the market value needs to be locked as liquidity reserves, then XRP’s total market value would need to reach $75 billion. Based on the current circulating supply of approximately 56 billion coins, the price of each XRP would be around $134.

However, the target of 3000 USD implies a market capitalization of about 1.68 trillion USD, which requires XRP not only to replace Swift but also to become the core settlement layer of the global financial system. In this scenario, XRP would handle not only cross-border payments but also all major financial activities such as securities settlement, commodity trading, and real estate transfers. Although this vision is grand, the difficulty of achieving it is extremely high, and investors should maintain rational expectations.

Investment Strategies and Risk Management Recommendations

For crypto assets investors, this reminds us to closely monitor market dynamics, plan cautiously, and stay informed about market information. In the coming months, XRP and Real Token may experience significant volatility, rapid adoption, and growing interest from institutional investors, so seizing opportunities and formulating strategies is crucial.

Investors should closely monitor market dynamics and be prepared to respond to market fluctuations. Before November 17, XRP may experience “buying ahead of news,” with prices reflecting market expectations in advance. On the announcement date and in the following days, price fluctuations could be extremely volatile. A rational strategy is to build positions in batches rather than making a large single investment, and to set stop-loss levels to control risk.

Key Considerations for Investing in XRP

Regulatory Risk: Although the relationship between Ripple and the SEC has improved, regulatory uncertainty still exists.

Competitive Pressure: Projects like Stellar and Algorand are also vying for the cross-border payment market.

Technical Risks: Although XRPL is mature, it may still face security vulnerabilities or scalability bottlenecks.

Market Sentiment: The overall trend of the crypto market will affect XRP, and attention should be paid to the movements of Bitcoin and US stocks.

November 17 may become a historic moment in the history of blockchain and global financial development. The launch of XRP RealFi is bringing it closer to mainstream applications, demonstrating how trillions of dollars could flow within the digital financial system.