Some in the XRP community have argued that XRP can achieve high processing efficiency in cross-border payments without locking up large amounts of liquidity. They said its core competitiveness lies not in the size of holdings but in a structure that rapidly and repeatedly uses the same asset.

On May 20, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Eri, an XRP community figure, argued XRP’s payment efficiency comes from “fast turnover speed.”

The key is how XRP is processed when used as a bridge currency. Financial institutions can convert fiat currency into XRP, send it overseas within seconds, and immediately exchange it back into another fiat currency locally. Eri said the process ends so quickly that the same XRP can be reused repeatedly.

He cited Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso as a representative example. Bitso has used a structure that converts U.S. dollars into XRP and then exchanges them into Mexican pesos, and Eri stressed that such settlement cycles can repeat very quickly.

The argument leads to the logic that XRP competitiveness depends on “productive liquidity” rather than simple circulating supply. Citing a Bitso-related case study, Eri said that if liquidity of 10 billion XRP is reused about 100 times a day, it can handle up to $10 trillion a day in bridge transactions. He added that the calculation assumes an XRP price of about $10 per token.

Eri acknowledged that real processing capacity is not determined by simple calculations. He said where liquidity is concentrated across payment corridors is a key variable. He pointed to factors including corridor depth, exchange liquidity, RippleNet-based wallets, over-the-counter (OTC) desks and market maker inventories as determining actual payment processing volume.

XRP supporters therefore view expanding key payment corridors and securing productive liquidity as more important than the size of circulating supply. They cite the ability to process large payments with less capital than existing international remittance systems by using fast settlement speed as a differentiating factor for XRP.

Others in the market have also voiced scepticism. Critics say speed alone cannot make global payment infrastructure operate smoothly. They argue that without sufficiently deep liquidity pools, bottlenecks and slippage can occur when institutional demand surges.

Computer engineer Charusan warned that even if the XRP price rises to $10 to $20, it would be difficult to efficiently absorb large transactions if market depth is insufficient. He said liquidity and the market’s ability to absorb orders matter more than simple transfer speed.

The debate is being described as again showing the challenges faced by the Ripple ecosystem. There is little disagreement about XRP’s fast transfer and settlement structure itself, but critics say expanding it into global payment infrastructure also requires sufficient market liquidity and stable payment corridors.

Ultimately, some say XRP’s competitiveness depends on how well it can balance building fast speed and deep liquidity.