How critical are stablecoins really? To put it simply, they are the bridge between DeFi and TradFi.

You see, if a public chain can have its own native stablecoin, when negotiating partnerships with banks and financial institutions, the bargaining power changes completely. The problem is—this advantage often comes at the cost of quick gains.

Ripple has recently been taking this route. They just announced a partnership with LMAX to integrate their stablecoin RLUSD, aiming to further open up the market. It sounds quite reasonable, but XRP holders are starting to feel uneasy.

Why is that? From a technical and fundamental perspective, their concerns are actually valid. Ripple is putting effort into attracting institutional investors, and ETF funds are continuously flowing in, but how does the price of XRP respond? Very indifferently.

Comparing the data makes it even clearer—by 2026, XRP’s performance will still be overshadowed by SOL. But if we extend the timeline, within the 2025 cycle, XRP limits its losses to under 12%, while SOL drops by 35%. Half a year ago, the situation was quite different.

So the core question is: in this context, are Ripple’s recent series of actions truly laying the groundwork for long-term development, or are they just surface-level moves? XRP investors, do you really understand the game Ripple is playing?