What could be the impact on the XRP price if the global messaging system Swift adopted XRP as its liquidity layer?
Today, XRP continues to show strong resilience by holding above $2 as the broader market struggles. Despite this resilience, several market commentators argue that XRP still trades far below its real value.
Notably, they base this view on XRP’s growing role in payments. Interestingly, amid these suggestions, multiple industry leaders have discussed whether XRP could replace SWIFT or work beside it as a settlement option for cross-border transactions.
Ripple Executives Tout XRP as SWIFT Competitor
For instance, Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen explained this in 2015 during a conversation with Global Finance Magazine. He said Ripple’s technology connects different payment networks and supports real-time settlement across any currency.
Larsen also noted that Ripple does not aim to replace systems like SWIFT or ACH. Instead, he said it can operate alongside them to deliver faster, cheaper, and compliant international payments.
Also, when asked in 2018 if SWIFT’s blockchain plans would threaten Ripple, CTO David Schwartz said SWIFT’s move could compete with RippleNet, but it could shift its focus to position XRP to settle payments moving through SWIFT. Notably, in September 2025, SWIFT confirmed its plan to build a blockchain-based ledger.
Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been more ambitious with his takes. He argued in 2018 that SWIFT’s GPI upgrade only refreshed the surface of an outdated system. At XRPL Apex 2025, he later said he expects XRPL to capture 14% of SWIFT’s market within 5 years.
XRP as SWIFT’s Liquidity Layer?
XRP has dominated these conversations because of its attractive features, such as a fast, effective real-time settlement layer and low costs, which remain ideal for payments.
Amid the conversation, we explored what it might look like if SWIFT uses XRP as its liquidity layer. In such a setup, SWIFT’s messaging system would stay the same because banks would continue sending the same payment instructions they already use today.
However, settlement would happen through XRP. Banks would convert the sender’s currency into XRP, send it across borders in seconds, and convert it back into the receiving currency on arrival. This process would remove multi-day delays, cut costs, and free trillions currently locked in nostro and vostro accounts around the world.
Possible XRP Price if SWIFT Uses XRP as Liquidity Layer
Notably, SWIFT handles about $150 trillion in transactions each year. As a result, serving as SWIFT’s liquidity layer could positively impact its price. However, it remains unclear how much the XRP price would grow. As a result, we asked Google Gemini for its view.
In response, Gemini noted that this scenario was extremely bullish but purely hypothetical. It explained that XRP would need a large enough market cap to support the liquidity demands that come with SWIFT’s scale.
With SWIFT’s $150 trillion per year translating to about $411 billion per day and XRP’s circulating supply sitting at 60.25 billion tokens, Gemini applied a conservative liquidity multiple of 100. This produced a required market cap of roughly $41.1 trillion.
Utility Based Breakdown | Google Gemini
Dividing this figure by the circulating supply resulted in a utility-based XRP price of about $682. However, Gemini added that speculation could push the price much higher.
Using a multiplier of up to 2.5 would yield a potential high-end range between $1,000 and $1,500 per token. Gemini also noted that regulation, competition, and technical requirements would heavily influence any real outcome.
XRP Price if SWIFT Adopts XRP as Liquidity Layer
Notably, if this price materializes, most XRP holders would see their investments skyrocket to impressive heights. For instance, investors holding 5,000 XRP worth $10,300 today would see their balance skyrocket to $5 million if XRP hit the $1,000 mark, and $7.5 million if the $1,500 target plays out.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
