Ripple-linked payment token XRP and smart-contract platform must demonstrate true utility beyond loyal communities as the cryptocurrency market matures from hype-driven narratives to fundamentals-focused assets, Galaxy Digital founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said in a recent interview.
“Can Ripple keep it together? Can Cardano keep it together?” Novogratz said this during a conversation with Galaxy’s head of research Alex Thorn on Friday.
He highlighted that while XRP and Cardano’s native token, ADA, boast resilient fan bases, their on-chain activity remains relatively weak.
“Charles Hoskinson, bless his soul, he’s kept the Cardano community going with a blockchain that people don’t really use much,” Novogratz said. “He’s had a strong community just like XRP. Can you keep it together when there are more and more opportunities?”
Novogratz argued that the broader market is evolving: Tokens that are not “money” like Bitcoin will be valued like traditional businesses based on revenue, usage and measurable value.
Fintech company Ripple uses the XRP token as a bridge asset for fast, low-cost cross-border payments through its RippleNet network of partnerships across banks and fintechs. Still, critics have long pointed out that its organic activity remains low and does not justify XRP’s multi-billion dollar market valuation.
XRP currently has a market capitalization of approximately $115 billion, ranking it fifth among cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap data. Cardano’s ADA is around $13-14 billion, placing it around 12th.
On-chain metrics underscore Novogratz’s concerns about adoption. At press time, the number of active XRP addresses was 16,703, according to data source CryptoQuant.
Cardano’s active addresses numbered over 19,000. Both figures are significantly lower than other projects such as Solana, which typically see millions in active addresses powered by DeFi, memes and apps. Solana’s SOL token has a market capitalization of $72 billion, the seventh largest in the world.
Novogratz contrasted community-driven tokens with new examples like Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual exchange that generates real income and burns most profits to buy back its token, creating equity-like economics.
