A fresh update from a crypto expert has emerged regarding XRP and Ripple’s next trajectory, sparking a debate in the community. In recent years, this update has turned out to be one of the most accurate in determining the future of the leading altcoin, reinforcing the significance of the update.

New Research Outlines XRP’s Direction

In a post on the X platform shared by Stern Drew, a crypto expert, Digital Asset Solutions (DAS) Research has delivered what many XRP watchers have been waiting for and finding difficult to determine. The Research seems to have offered insights and provided a clear data-driven signal that breaks through months of conjecture and market noise.

According to the expert, DAS Research just presented the most convincing evidence so far of where XRP is headed. While their analysis offers a clear view of the future direction, it shows that the altcoin and Ripple, an American-based payment firm, are no longer competing in crypto. 

Ripple and XRP are shifting into a global payment infrastructure, one that is used by banks, Fintechs, and cross-border networks that seek speed, scale, and settlement transparency. Looking at the Research, there are 3 core realities that are likely to shape the next trajectory of the asset and the payment firm.

The first scenario is that XRP boosts the structural advantage, which includes fast settlement, low cost, neutral bridge asset, globally distributed ledger, and institutional-grade reliability. Drew stated that this is the reason adoption is growing in the midst of enterprises that seek predictable value transfer, and not speculation.

Secondly, the Research highlights the transformation of stablecoins, as these coins are becoming strategic assets, not competitive ones. Instead of opposing them, Ripple is absorbing stablecoins, which are becoming a key part of the crypto and financial landscape. 

Ripple’s integration of stablecoins is evidenced by its RLUSD, a dollar-pegged token acting as the fiat anchor. Meanwhile, XRP serves as the liquidity and bridge asset that ties everything together. In the current landscape, this connection is precisely how scaled settlement ecosystems develop.

Catalysts To Drive The Next Future

With key updates and achievements of Ripple, the Research noted that the catalysts to spur the next phase are already forming. Some of these catalysts include RippleNet’s partnership expansion, RLUSD corridors opening, and institutional custody maturing. Even Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) structures are entering the conversation.

Each of these catalysts raises the likelihood that regulated financial plumbing will incorporate XRP. Meanwhile, direct bank-level chain utilization is the only sector that is currently lagging behind. However, this is exactly what worldwide licensing pushes, ZK-enabled identity layers, Ripple Prime, and RLUSD are meant to open.

Drew believes that DAS is creating awareness of what investors are unable to see. Behind the scenes, XRP is cementing its position as infrastructure, not a trade, and the competition is not other tokens, but the existing payment system, which is starting to shift.

Crypto pundit JackTheRippler recently drew the community’s attention to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s appearance at the Senate Banking Committee hearing. The CEO spoke about XRP amid his talk on how his company is building the “internet of value.”

Ripple CEO Talks About XRP During Banking Committee Appearance

In an X post, JackTheRippler shared a video of the Ripple CEO at the Banking Committee hearing, where he spoke about Ripple and XRP. Garlinghouse stated that they were building the internet of value, where money moves as easily as information. He added that their payment services were made possible through the use of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and its native token XRP. 

The Ripple CEO further noted that XRP is built to enable fast, low-cost, and highly scalable transactions, which makes it suitable as the bridge currency for their cross-border payment services. Garlinghouse made these comments in relation to his testimony on the need for “smart” crypto regulations, including market-structure legislation, to eliminate regulatory uncertainty and advance innovation in the U.S. 

The CEO mentioned that his company was among the notable victims of the previous SEC administration’s regulation-by-enforcement approach. The commission had sued the crypto firm, arguing that XRP was a security and that the firm had violated securities laws through institutional sales of the token. 

However, as the CEO noted, Judge Torres ruled that XRP was not a security in itself. Garlinghouse believes that the crypto market structure legislation will help the crypto industry progress while also protecting consumers, like XRP holders, who were affected by the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit. XRP’s price was affected by uncertainty about its legal status at the time of the lawsuit, which spanned over four years. 

DAS Research Provides Bull Case For XRP

In an X post, market expert Stern Drew highlighted a report from DAS Research, which provided a bull case for XRP. Drew highlighted how the report stated that XRP and Ripple are no longer competing in crypto. Instead, they are evolving into a global payment infrastructure, which will be adopted by banks, fintechs, and cross-border networks that demand speed, scale, and settlement certainty. 

Drew further pointed out three core realities highlighted by the report. The first is that XRP is said to have the structural advantage with fast settlement, low cost, being a neutral bridge asset on a globally distributed ledger, and with institutional-grade reliability. 

The expert noted that this is why adoption is rising among enterprises that need predictable value transfer. The other two realities are Ripple’s integration of the RLUSD stablecoin and its institutional partnerships, which will help boost XRP’s utility. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.08, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.