Top Expert Says XRP Is Positioning for Trillions, Not Billions — Western Union Misses the Bigger Picture

As critics continue to bash XRP amid the Western Union–Solana deal, a new voice has entered the debate.

In his view, the conversation shouldn’t revolve around Western Union’s “billions,” but around Ripple’s growing exposure to trillions in global payment and liquidity flows.

Kwok highlighted three key purchases from the past year:

• Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage that clears $3 trillion annually.
• GTreasury, a global treasury management firm powering trillions in yearly payment flows across 160+ countries.
• Rail, a fast-growing payments platform that handles 10% of all stablecoin-based payment activity worldwide.

Essentially, ownership is key. Unlike partnerships, which can dissolve when corporate strategies change, acquisitions give Ripple long-term control over how these new infrastructures evolve.

XRP as the Settlement Layer

Central to Kwok’s thesis is the idea that XRP sits “at the center of it all.”

With Ripple taking full control of platforms processing multi-trillion-dollar liquidity flows, the company has both the ability and the incentive to migrate settlement activity toward the XRP Ledger over time.

“Don’t Lose Sight of the Forest for the Trees”

Meanwhile, critics commenting on the Western Union–Solana deal are questioning XRP’s relevance beyond Ripple.

Specifically, market commentator Scott Melker questioned its role in today’s payments ecosystem, as Western Union chose Solana over the XRP Ledger, despite having tested the XRP network for years.

Western Union will launch its USDPT stablecoin on Solana in 2026 to enable global stablecoin transfers and cash-outs. The company could attract over $100 billion in annual cross-border follow to Solana.

For Kwok, the focus should be on the trillions of dollars Ripple plans to handle, not billion-dollar flows.

“Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees,” he remarked, as Ripple assembles the machinery to push XRP into the heart of trillion-dollar institutional settlements.

“Trillions, not billions,” Kwok said in closing.

Other industry leaders share Kwok’s view. Flare CEO Hugo Philion previously dismissed concerns that Western Union’s Solana partnership impacts Ripple or the XRPL

He stressed that Ripple is targeting trading and asset management, as demonstrated by its acquisitions of GTreasury and Hidden Road (Ripple Prime).

Moreover, Flare complements Ripple by expanding XRP’s DeFi and cross-chain capabilities.