Analyst Explains Why Stablecoins Can't Replace XRP in Payments

TL;DR

• Versan Aljarrah argues stablecoins serve different functions than XRP in payments.
• Stablecoins act as digital currency; XRP functions as a liquidity bridge asset.
• Ripple confirms RLUSD stablecoin complements XRP rather than replacing its role.

Versan Aljarrah, founder of Black Swan Capitalist, publicly dismissed concerns that stablecoins could replace XRP within the global digital payments infrastructure. His central argument: both assets serve distinct functions within the same system.

Stablecoins are not replacing XRP.
They’re completing the stack.

Stablecoins represent currency.
XRP represents liquidity.

Together they create programmable settlement.

— Black Swan Capitalist (@VersanAljarrah) March 12, 2026

The debate intensified following the integration of Ripple USD (RLUSD) into Ripple’s payments solution and the growing number of stablecoins issued by institutions like JPMorgan Chase and PayPal.

Aljarrah drew a clear line between the two assets:

• Stablecoins function as digital currency. They maintain a fixed value relative to the dollar or another fiat currency, eliminate price volatility, and allow transactions across blockchain networks. Their adoption expanded across trading, remittances, and decentralized finance.
• XRP acts as a liquidity bridge. It does not operate as an everyday transaction currency, but as the asset that connects different currencies during the settlement process between financial institutions.

From that perspective, both assets complement each other. Stablecoins handle the transaction layer, while XRP supplies the liquidity needed for payments to cross borders quickly and at low cost.

Aljarrah argued that combining both elements enables a programmable settlement infrastructure where digital assets move and settle almost in real time.

Several community members backed Aljarrah’s position. One user pointed out that stablecoins provide value stability, while XRP solves the liquidity problem in international payments. Together, by that reading, they form a more complete financial infrastructure than either asset delivers on its own.

Skeptics, however, maintain their reservations. The launch of RLUSD — Ripple’s own stablecoin — raised questions about whether the company is gradually shifting XRP away from its historical role as the bridge asset within its payments network.

Ripple responded directly: RLUSD does not replace XRP. According to the company, both assets can function as bridge currencies in cross-border settlements, with RLUSD improving entry points into the system rather than substituting the liquidity function XRP has served since its origin.

The global digital payments market holds room for distinct layers of infrastructure. The real question is not which asset survives, but how each one occupies its place within a financial system that continues to digitize at an accelerating pace.