In the ever-changing cryptocurrency market, finding a stable investment path is crucial. The method is not complicated; starting now, set a fixed amount each month for dollar-cost averaging into two promising cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP.
Bitcoin: The king of consensus, the cornerstone of cryptocurrency
As the pioneer of the cryptocurrency field, Bitcoin's position is hard to shake. It has a long development history and has opened a new era of decentralized cryptocurrency since its inception. After years of market baptism, Bitcoin has accumulated a broad base of support, receiving high attention and recognition from tech enthusiasts to various global investors. In the world of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin's consensus is second to none, making it the 'digital gold' in many investors' asset allocations. Whether in market liquidity, trading activity, or global recognition, Bitcoin is far ahead, providing investors with relatively stable and highly liquid investment options.
XRP: The bridge between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency world
Compared to Bitcoin, XRP has emerged as a highly promising investment target due to its unique technological advantages and deep integration potential with traditional financial systems. Especially against the backdrop of the impending full implementation of the ISO 20022 standard, XRP is expected to welcome significant development opportunities.
I. Technical integration and advantages of embedding in financial systems
Seamless integration into the traditional financial system: ISO 20022, as the new standard language for data exchange among global financial institutions, has become key to the digital transformation of the financial industry. The RippleNet global payment network, to which XRP belongs, achieves direct connection with banking systems (like SWIFT) through deep integration of ISO 20022's XML format. This technological breakthrough enables XRP to act as a 'bridge asset' in cross-border payments, facilitating real-time settlement and significantly reducing the transfer and time costs associated with traditional cross-border payments. For financial institutions like banks, accessing the XRP payment system has become more convenient, requiring no significant resources to develop additional interfaces, thus allowing them to utilize XRP's liquidity within a compliant framework to optimize cross-border payment processes.
Data richness and compliance enhancement: The biggest advantage of ISO 20022 compared to the old version of SWIFT MT messages is its ability to support the transmission of more rich structured data, including transaction purposes and the identities of both parties. The clever embedding of this metadata in the transaction chain of XRP has significant implications for meeting strict compliance requirements such as anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC). In today's increasingly stringent financial regulatory environment, compliance has become a key factor in whether cryptocurrencies can be accepted by traditional financial institutions. With strong support for compliance, XRP has removed major obstacles for financial institutions, laying a solid foundation for its widespread application in the traditional financial sector.
II. Market position and ecological expansion
The only cryptocurrency involved in standard-setting: Ripple occupies a unique position in the ISO 20022 standard-setting body as the only cryptocurrency enterprise with voting rights. This means Ripple can participate in rule-making alongside traditional financial giants like Visa and JPMorgan Chase. This 'first-mover standard dividend' gives XRP a significant advantage in leading the integration of blockchain with traditional finance. For example, the Ukrainian central bank chose to adopt Stellar (XLM) to build its digital currency precisely because of its ISO compatibility. In terms of technical strength and policy alignment capabilities, XRP surpasses XLM and is expected to have a greater impact in future collaborations with central banks and financial institutions around the world.
Deepening collaboration with leading banks: Currently, over 72% of banks worldwide have completed the migration to ISO 20022, including industry giants such as Deutsche Bank and HSBC. Ripple has partnered with many leading banks, including Bank of America and Santander. Under the new standard, XRP's significant advantages of '3-second settlement + $0.0001 cost' will become even more apparent, attracting more banks to incorporate XRP into their payment channels. As more banks adopt XRP for cross-border payments, the market demand and circulation range of XRP will continue to expand, creating a virtuous cycle and driving its market share in global payments to grow.
III. Re-evaluation of price and investment logic
Liquidity premium expectations: If XRP can successfully become a bridging tool for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) or be used by banks as a reserve asset (similar to a 'digital version of SDR'), its circulation demand in the market is expected to grow explosively. For example, after Trump's victory at the end of 2024, the market's optimistic expectations for the implementation of ISO 20022 boosted XRP's price from $0.6 to $3.2, reflecting the market's positive outlook on XRP's future potential. In contrast, non-ISO compliant cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, may face bottlenecks in penetrating traditional financial scenarios, while XRP, with its compliance advantages, is expected to achieve a higher liquidity premium.
Optimized competitive landscape: Despite the presence of various cryptocurrencies in the market claiming compatibility with ISO 20022, such as XLM, ALGO, and ADA, XRP significantly leads in actual penetration rates within financial institutions, settlement scale, and the number of fiat channels. Taking RippleNet as an example, its business scope has covered more than 70 countries globally, processing transactions worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually. This scale advantage allows XRP to stand out in competition, creating a strong moat that can effectively resist the impact of competitors and further solidify its position in the cryptocurrency market.
Of course, investment always comes with risks, much like sailing through turbulent seas filled with uncertainties. Although Ripple has reached a settlement with the U.S. SEC, there are still discrepancies among some countries regarding the 'security attribute' of XRP, which may impact its access progress in certain markets. In terms of competitive technological alternatives, private chains (like JPMCoin) or new compliance protocols may siphon off some market demand. However, XRP's openness and cross-chain capabilities (such as collaboration with Quant) provide it with unique differentiated advantages, allowing it to maintain a leading position in competition.
In the short term, the migration rush for banks in the second half of 2025 will further drive the adoption rate of XRP, potentially leading to increased price volatility, but the overall trend is upward. In the long run, if XRP can successfully become the foundational currency of the 'financial internet,' it is expected to replicate the ecological monopoly value of traditional financial giants like Visa and SWIFT, bringing substantial returns to investors. By investing monthly in Bitcoin and XRP, investors can not only participate in the development wave of the cryptocurrency market but also accumulate more high-quality assets through market fluctuations in the long-term investment process, achieving steady wealth growth.
If you currently feel helpless and confused about trading, and want to learn more about the cryptocurrency space and cutting-edge information, click on my profile picture to follow me, so you won’t get lost! Understanding the market clearly gives you the confidence to operate. Steady gains are far more practical than fantasizing about getting rich quickly.
