Ripple CEO Shares Reasons XRP is Unique in Latest Presentation

Brad Garlinghouse, the Ripple CEO, recently shared reasons XRP is unique amid the multiple assets that have emerged in the crypto ecosystem.

Garlinghouse shared his thoughts during a new episode of the company’s “Crypto in a Minute” series, recorded at the recently concluded XRP Las Vegas 2026 event and rebranded as “XRP in a Minute” specifically for the occasion.

Key Points

• Ripple CEO Garlinghouse recently shared multiple reasons XRP is unique.
• According to him, the original architects built the XRPL with the specific purpose of improving payments.
• He pointed out that XRP settles transactions in 3-5 seconds with fees costing only fractions of a penny.
• The XRP Ledger has processed over 4 billion transactions, proving its ability to scale.
• A May 2026 pilot with JPMorgan and Mastercard settled tokenized assets in under 5 seconds.

Ripple CEO Explains Why XRP is Unique 

In the presentation, Garlinghouse pointed out the early days of the XRP Ledger. He explained that the people who created it had previously worked on the core of Bitcoin. From that experience, they saw a chance to build something more focused, something designed to solve real problems in payments.

According to Garlinghouse, this purpose is what makes XRP different. Instead of trying to handle everything, the network was built with one goal in mind: making payments faster and more efficient. This focus influenced how the system works today.

Garlinghouse mentioned speed as one of XRP’s biggest strengths. He pointed out that transactions on the network settle in three to five seconds, which makes it much faster than many other systems. He also highlighted the low cost, explaining that fees are just fractions of a penny per transaction.

The Ripple CEO added that the network can handle large volumes of activity. So far, it has processed over four billion transactions, confirming that it can scale while keeping performance steady. Essentially, these features form the core of XRP’s appeal.

He also spoke about the role of the community. He described XRP users as a strong and active group, often calling them the “XRP family,” and sometimes the “XRP army,” depending on the situation. In his view, this support helps keep the network growing and relevant.

According to him, when you combine all these factors, including speed, affordability, scalability, community, and long-term reliability, you get a system that stands out and is well placed for future growth.

Data Supports XRPL’s Capabilities

The available data backs up many of Garlinghouse’s points. The network consistently completes transactions in 3-5 seconds, which puts it close to systems like Visa that handle authorization in 2-4 seconds. 

At the same time, it is much faster than Bitcoin, which takes about 10 minutes per block and around 60 minutes for full confirmation, and also quicker than Ethereum, which often takes 13 seconds or more depending on conditions.

Meanwhile, costs remain very low, usually below $0.01, and often between $0.0002 and $0.000856. Even when activity increases, fees stay stable, and the network rarely faces major congestion issues.

The system also performs well under load. Specifically, it can handle about 1,500 transactions per second (TPS) in real conditions, with higher limits in theory. Recent data shows it has sustained over 120 TPS, with each batch processing around 600 to 700 transactions.

Rising Usage and Real-World Adoption

Also, usage of the network has grown steadily. Total transactions have passed 4 billion, in line with Garlinghouse’s statement, with reports showing about 4.28 billion by early 2026.

Daily activity has also increased, moving from 1 to 1.2 million transactions in mid-2025 to peaks between 2.7 million and 4.49 million in March and April 2026. Monthly averages have stayed above 1 million transactions in early 2026.

The XRP Ledger has been around since 2012, built to fix issues in cross-border payments such as slow processing and high costs linked to traditional banking systems. 

Unlike Bitcoin, which focuses on being a store of value, or Ethereum, which supports various application types, XRPL was designed mainly for fast and low-cost transfers. It also included features like a built-in exchange and token support from the start. Over time, it has remained reliable, closing more than 100 million ledgers.

More recently, institutions have started to test its utility. Earlier this month, Ripple worked with JPMorgan’s Kinexys, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance on a pilot involving tokenized U.S. Treasuries (OUSG). The blockchain part of the transaction settled in under 5 seconds, followed by a payout in U.S. dollars.

At the same time, the ecosystem continues to grow with stablecoins like RLUSD, more decentralized finance activity, and close to 27,000 automated market maker pools. This growth is happening as rules around crypto continue to evolve, including discussions like the CLARITY Act.