A debate in the community continues over whether Ripple’s structure of holding 38.5 billion XRP could be a burden for global banks adopting XRP.

On April 2 local time, blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that analyst Mason Versluis (메이슨 버슬루이스) pointed out on X, formerly Twitter, that Ripple could secure excessive financial influence if the XRP price surges.

He argued that when global banks consider adopting cryptocurrencies, they look not only at technology but also market structure, token distribution and public perception. He also viewed whether XRP’s utility for fast and cheap cross-border transactions can overcome such concerns as a key point of review.

Ripple holds a total of 38.5 billion XRP, combining 33.5 billion in escrow and 5 billion in readily available wallet holdings. Versluis noted that if XRP hypothetically reaches $30 per token, the value of Ripple’s holdings could reach $1.14 trillion (about 1,719 trillion won). The current value is $51.3 billion (about 77 trillion won). He saw XRP price gains as potentially giving Ripple excessive influence, which could conflict with the interests of traditional finance.

Versluis also questioned whether XRP’s vision as a “global bridge currency” could change if stablecoins take a larger share in payment flows. In the community, views are mixed between expectations for institutional adoption and a more cautious stance that cites how banks make decisions.

Meanwhile, Panos Mekras (파노스 메크라스), CEO of crypto financial company Anodos Finance, saw a possibility that global banks may not adopt XRP as a payment method. He mentioned that this perception was reflected in the background to Ripple’s launch of the stablecoin RLUSD in December 2024. He said stablecoins have fixed value, making them more predictable as a payment method.

The debate boils down to what judgment the financial sector will make between XRP’s technical utility and Ripple’s large XRP holding structure. XRP clearly has strengths as a fast and cheap tool for international remittances, but for banks it is difficult to decide actual adoption based on technology alone, because they have to consider issuer influence, asset concentration and price stability of the payment method.

As stablecoins build a stronger presence as a payment method, how XRP can secure a role as a global bridge asset is likely to become a key issue going forward.

Genuine question for hardcore $XRP holders: Why would global banks choose to use XRP and in turn, potentially boost its price through the roof, when Ripple holds 34B tokens? If it goes to the wild prices everyone yaps about, Ripple would be the most valuable financial…