🔍 Most Investors Are Looking at XRP the Wrong Way

For years, XRP’s price performance has frustrated investors.
While the broader crypto market thrives on hype-driven cycles, #XRP has often lagged — leading many to label it as weak or broken.
According to Firsan Al-Jarrah, Founder of Black Swan Capitalist, this conclusion misses the point entirely.
🧠 The Core Misunderstanding
“XRP was never designed for pump-and-dump cycles.”
Most investors evaluate XRP using the same framework applied to speculative assets — momentum, sentiment, and short-term price action.
That framework doesn’t apply.
XRP was designed as a settlement asset, not a hype vehicle.
⚙️ What XRP Was Actually Built For
Utility over speculation
Settlement over narratives
Infrastructure over price excitement
Al-Jarrah explains that XRP’s progress is measured by its ability to move value efficiently when traditional systems struggle, not by how fast it rallies during risk-on phases.
From this perspective, price alone is an incomplete metric.
📉 Why Does XRP Still Move With the Market?
Despite its unique design, $XRPUSDT still trades inside the same liquidity structure as other digital assets.
Key reasons:
Crypto liquidity remains tied to Bitcoin
Bitcoin itself is linked to global debt markets
Global liquidity is still controlled by the US dollar system
Even stablecoins haven’t changed this reality — they are still digital representations of fiat, dependent on traditional settlement layers.
As long as XRP trades within this structure, short-term correlation is unavoidable.
🔑 The Real Catalyst: Settlement Demand
According to Al-Jarrah, true decoupling doesn’t come from narratives or sentiment.
It comes during:
Systemic stress
Liquidity breakdowns
Failures in traditional settlement rails
That’s when demand for neutral, efficient settlement emerges — exactly what XRP was designed to provide.
XRP’s value is driven by necessity, not belief.
🔮 “XRP May Decouple From Bitcoin This Year”
Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, echoes this view.
In a recent podcast:
He stated Bitcoin likely peaked in Oct 2025 at $126,200
BTC is already down ~36%
He expects a further 20–30% decline over the next 6–9 months
But this cycle, he argues, is different.
🌍 2026: From Speculation to Real Utility
McClurg believes 2026 will shift focus toward:
Real-world asset tokenization
Stablecoins
Practical blockchain infrastructure
He sees XRPLedger as well-positioned in this transition and expects select assets like XRP to decouple from Bitcoin’s decline.
📈 Expectations remain modest:
Potential gains under 10%
Stability over speculation
Critics call this unrealistic — supporters call it structural realism.
🧩 Final Take
XRP doesn’t need: ❌ Hype
❌ Constant media attention
❌ Retail euphoria
Its moment comes when the system needs what it was built for.
Efficient. Neutral. Scalable settlement.
Investors focused only on charts may miss this.
Those watching market structure instead of sentiment see a long-term strategy quietly forming.