Will Ripple’s XRP Overtake Ethereum? Crypto Founder Details the Massive Payment Opportunity Behind the Bold Prediction

Could Ripple-linked XRP be positioning itself to challenge Ethereum’s dominance in the crypto market? Tria founder John Lilic has pointed to a potentially massive payments opportunity that could strengthen the case for Ripple’s ecosystem. He argues that capturing just a fraction of Visa’s enormous transaction volume could translate into $35 billion in weekly payments, putting XRP’s long-term ambitions in a much bigger spotlight.

The $35 Billion Opportunity That Could Put XRP Ahead of Ethereum

During an interview with XRP influencer Eri, Tria’s John Lilic outlined how Ripple could build a much larger payments network by bringing together its RLUSD stablecoin, card offerings, and neobanking services. 

He suggested that Ripple could partner with major payment networks such as Visa or Mastercard to launch credit cards backed by RLUSD. By integrating these products with banking and financial management services, Lilic believes Ripple could attract a broader customer base and compete more directly with established payment providers.

Lilic estimates that Visa currently handles roughly $350 billion in transactions every week. If Ripple’s ecosystem captured just 10% of that activity, it could translate into about $35 billion in weekly payment volume.

He further projects that this approach could drive the creation of at least $10 billion worth of additional RLUSD over the next three years.

Lilic also expects the XRP Ledger to settle these payments, potentially giving XRP a central role in the proposed financial ecosystem. He contends that broader adoption of the network could boost demand for XRP, support its market value, and strengthen its position in the competition with Ethereum.

Put simply, if Ripple captured just 10% of Visa’s weekly payment volume, around $35 billion in transactions could flow through the XRPL ecosystem every week. Lilic views this as a potential game-changer for XRP adoption, one that could strengthen the token’s market position and fuel its ambition to overtake Ethereum.

His comments carry added weight given his background as an early Ethereum evangelist. That makes his bullish outlook on XRP a notable shift.

How Ripple Could Turn $35 Billion in Weekly Payments Into an XRP Catalyst 

Lilic sees $35 billion in weekly payments as a major opportunity to expand activity across the XRP Ledger. If achieved, that volume would total about $1.82 trillion annually and $5.46 trillion over three years.

However, such figures would not translate directly into an equivalent increase in XRP’s market value. The impact would depend on how extensively the token is used to facilitate transactions, provide liquidity, and settle payments. Similarly, expanding RLUSD’s supply would not automatically generate buying pressure for XRP.

If Ripple successfully converts this projected opportunity into real-world adoption, greater use of the XRP Ledger could strengthen the token’s market position. Lilic believes this growth could help XRP close the valuation gap with Ethereum and eventually challenge ETH for the second-largest cryptocurrency ranking.

XRP Faces a 253% Climb in Its Race to Usurp ETH

Despite the ambitious outlook, Ethereum maintains a substantial lead over XRP in market value. ETH is currently trading at $2,287, giving it a market cap of $279.4 billion, per CoinGecko. By comparison, XRP trades at $1.25, with a market cap of about $79.2 billion.

That leaves a valuation gap of nearly $200.2 billion between the two crypto assets. Based on their current circulating supply and assuming Ether’s market cap remains unchanged, XRP would need to climb to roughly $4.41 to match ETH. This would require an increase of about 253% from its current price.

The challenge, however, is that Ethereum’s valuation will not necessarily stand still while XRP attempts to catch up. Any further gains in ETH’s market capitalization would raise the threshold XRP must reach to overtake it.