Crypto researcher SMQKE has highlighted what he describes as the primary opportunity for XRP and XLM, pointing to their roles in the large-scale institutional cross-border payments sector.
Focus shifts from retail remittances to institutional payments
Rather than centering on traditional consumer remittance services, SMQKE emphasized that the significant value lies in enabling financial institutions and banks to move substantial sums across national borders. This segment is widely viewed as a multi-trillion-dollar market with high operational costs under legacy systems.
SMQKE summarized his position by stating on social media that, “XRP and XLM will target the BIG money,” referencing their potential to serve cross-border settlements for institutional clients. He argued that, “The BIG MONEY is in cross-border payments — that’s why we have Ripple and Stellar.” He concluded his remarks with, “XRP + XLM = Big Money. Watch.”
Ripple and Stellar are designed to address the needs of the institutional cross-border payments market, positioning XRP and XLM as assets capable of handling large-value transactions for banks and financial entities.
To illustrate his argument, SMQKE shared a video explaining that Ripple and Stellar were established to address business payment requirements rather than replacing companies focused on retail money transfers.
Mini dictionary: SMQKE is a digital asset researcher known for sharing market analyses related to blockchain payment networks, particularly XRP and XLM, with a large following on social media platforms.
Video describes Ripple and Stellar’s institutional focus
In the accompanying video, the speaker argues that companies such as Western Union will likely continue serving their customer base but may choose to implement new technologies. The speaker notes that while retail money transfers are significant, the majority of global transfer value occurs between businesses and financial institutions.
The analysis describes how fees for large, cross-border bank transfers remain high using conventional correspondent banking frameworks. In this context, platforms like Ripple and Stellar seek to optimize backend transaction flows among financial organizations, leaving the retail remittance sector as a secondary market.
As explained in the video, both networks are purpose-built for backend settlements, allowing banks to transfer funds with lower fees and faster settlement compared to legacy infrastructure. The discussion highlights that while current systems emphasize moving transaction data quickly, distributed ledger technology now enables faster movement of both data and funds together, thereby increasing efficiency for member institutions.
Network design: Ripple and Bitcoin compared
Another central topic raised in the video is the contrast between Ripple’s network and Bitcoin’s architecture. The speaker outlines that Bitcoin operates as an open, permissionless blockchain where anyone can interact without approval.
Ripple, developed by US-based fintech company Ripple Labs, instead functions as a permissioned network built for verified financial institution participants. Here, banks join as members and interact using recognized validator nodes rather than interacting on a public, open network.
The example given details how an international payment would be routed through the participating banks within the Ripple network, instead of person-to-person retail transactions. According to the speaker, this enables settlements to be finalized quickly and securely for institutional needs.
Mini dictionary: Ripple Labs is a US fintech company that develops payment solutions for financial institutions, notably using the XRP Ledger to facilitate fast and cost-efficient international transactions.
Through this analysis, SMQKE maintains that both XRP and XLM are strategically positioned to benefit as financial institutions seek new, more efficient cross-border payment infrastructures.
