XRP To Benefit From Stablecoin Surge? No, It's 'Like A Fast-Food Chain Make More Money Than A Michelin Restaurant,' Expert Says

Ripple XRP/USD may have cleared a major legal hurdle, but industry experts are divided on whether XRP is positioned to benefit from the recent stablecoin rally.

What Happened: Ripple Labs is set to settle its long-running legal battle with the SEC, agreeing to a revised $50 million penalty—down from the original $125 million.

Ripple's Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said the SEC will return $75 million, pending final court and commissioner approval.

The deal follows the SEC dropping its appeal of a 2023 ruling that found Ripple’s XRP retail sales didn’t violate securities laws, though institutional sales did.

Ripple will also withdraw its own cross-appeal, and the SEC plans to lift the injunction currently in place.

What Experts Are Saying: The regulatory clarity has sparked discussion about potential future XRP-based exchange-traded products (ETPs), with Nicolai Søndergaard, a research analyst at blockchain analytics firm Nansen, noting: "There is a higher chance of success for XRP futures or spot ETFs now."

However, analysts remain skeptical about XRP's upside in the context of the current stablecoin enthusiasm, particularly with Ripple's planned RLUSD stablecoin still awaiting broader adoption.

"The XRP token won't necessarily benefit from it as much as Ripple the company would," Søndergaard told Benzinga. "It wouldn't be surprising if people invest in XRP expecting gains, but that doesn't guarantee utility-based growth."

Patrick Young, Head of GTM at Web3 platform Galxe, echoed that sentiment.

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"The current stablecoin bull market is no more than a few headlines around some sensational launches," he told Benzinga. "XRP has utility as an institutional tool, but the trend around stablecoins may be entirely irrelevant to it."

Despite a spike in price following the resolution of the SEC lawsuit, XRP has since struggled to build momentum.

Young noted the token has remained "range bound between $2.58 and $1.94," with decreasing volume and limited catalysts for near-term rallies.

Meanwhile, Jean Rausis, co-founder of DeFi platform SMARDEX, offered a critical view, emphasizing that XRP's growth has little to do with the values underpinning the broader decentralized finance movement.

"XRP is a centralized, pre-mined token, operated by Ripple validators… a financial tool for banks — not a symbol of decentralization," he said.

He went further, comparing XRP's market appeal to fast food: "Seeing the market capitalization of XRP increase is like watching a fast-food chain make more money than a Michelin-starred restaurant… it says nothing about quality or innovation."

While the SEC's softened stance on Ripple may improve investor sentiment, the analysts opine that XRP's future will be defined more by institutional utility than by retail-driven stablecoin hype.

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