Ripple’s chief technology officer, David Schwartz, has reaffirmed XRP ($2.51)’s utility badge, even while tipping his hat to the speculative circus that drives the cryptocurrency market.

In a Thursday conversation on X, Schwartz responded to crypto podcaster Scott Melker’s questions about XRP’s value proposition.

Schwartz, one of Ripple’s engineers behind XRP’s creation as a cryptocurrency to facilitate cross-border payments, described it as a “blockchain where people can be their own bank and no middlemen tax their transactions.”

“XRP is the only asset without a counterparty that can be accessed by every account in every jurisdiction with no risk of default, freeze or clawback,” Schwartz said.

Still, the Ripple executive conceded that speculation drives most of the value in crypto, but he wants to believe that “utility matters.”

Schwartz is due to step down as CTO at the end of the year.

‘Greater fool’

The moment captures a debate that has raged on about what gives cryptocurrencies value: perceived utility or hype.

Detractors, including investment firms Hargreaves Lansdown and Charles Schwab, have argued that crypto doesn’t have intrinsic value. They’ve labelled crypto’s perceived value as being anchored in the “greater fool” phenomenon, where current investors hope to flip the asset for a higher price in the future.

That hasn’t prevented Charles Schwab from offering crypto trading. Even JPMorgan, whose CEO Jamie Dimon has dismissed Bitcoin and crypto several times, is also offering cryptocurrency exposure to its clients.

On the other side of the argument, proponents argue that crypto projects, particularly those centred on DeFi and payments, can deliver value by reducing transaction costs, facilitating financial inclusion, and creating new economic models.

Still, XRP’s price has risen and fallen in lockstep with hype cycles in the cryptocurrency market. On Friday, XRP traded at $2.52, down more than 30% from its peak of $3.65 on July 18.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.