In this episode, Jackson tackles a question that has shaped the XRP community for more than a decade: are there any true competitors to XRP as a bridge asset — or is the market misunderstanding what “conversion” actually means?
Unlike most discussions around XRP, Jackson approaches the topic through the lens of bank-grade criteria — standards drawn from BIS PFMI, DORA operational rules, ISO 20022 messaging, SWIFT interoperability, and CBDC pilot architectures. His goal is simple: define the true requirements of a conversion asset, then test every major contender against that benchmark.
The result is one of his clearest examinations yet of where XRP does — and does not — have competition.
Jackson begins by clearing up a major misconception:
A conversion asset is the asset actually bought and sold in the middle of a transaction, such as EUR → XRP → PHP or USD → USDC → MXN. It’s a liquidity function — not a messaging or networking function.
This distinction removes several popular “XRP competitors” from the conversation immediately.
To Jackson, a real conversion asset must satisfy three institutional criteria:
Only then can it serve as a neutral FX engine in a programmable settlement system.
Jackson evaluates the assets most commonly compared to XRP. Instead of hype, he looks at documented usage, architecture, and regulatory viability.
Jackson highlights that XRP remains the only public-chain asset performing neutral fiat-to-fiat conversion today in regulated corridors.
This comes from SBI Remit’s disclosures showing XRP used as:
“A bridge between two fiat currencies.”
These corridors — Japan to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam — bypass nostro/vostro pre-funding and achieve practical instant settlement. Jackson views this as the clearest proof that XRP already fulfils the conversion role it was designed for.
He stresses that this does not mean XRP will be the only bridge asset globally — but it is the only one currently operating at scale in a production environment.
In corridors where both sides prefer USD, Jackson notes that USDC, not XLM, serves as the conversion asset on Stellar.
This is important: despite the community narrative, the Stellar protocol does not force XLM to be the intermediary. Its architecture allows any asset — and in most cases, that asset is USDC.
For USD-heavy markets, USDC is a natural fit. But it is not a neutral, global conversion asset — it is geographically and politically anchored to the dollar.
RUNE is one of the few assets that functions as a mandated intermediary — every THORChain swap uses it by design.
But Jackson makes the limitation clear: THORChain’s model cannot operate inside bank-regulated corridors, CBDC pilots, or tokenized-deposit networks. Its conversion utility is real, but confined entirely to DeFi.
Lightning can route payments through BTC (e.g., USD → BTC → local currency), but Jackson identifies several blockers:
Lightning excels at retail transactions — not regulated FX conversion.
Jackson makes a categorical distinction that many crypto discussions miss:
None of them act as the asset bought and sold to perform FX conversion.
They are infrastructure — not liquidity.
After comparing all candidates, Jackson concludes that:
Assets like XLM, LINK, QNT, ETH, BTC, and L0 networks do not currently perform the conversion role — even if they play other essential roles in the settlement stack.
Jackson ties this back to the broader global-finance context: CBDC pilots, tokenized deposits, tokenized treasuries, and AI-driven settlement all point toward a multi-asset system where conversion, messaging, identity, privacy, and compliance each have specialized tools.
XRP’s differentiation lies specifically in its live, neutral, regulated conversion use cases.
Jackson positions XRP as a Core holding within his Inevitable Portfolio because it fulfils a function that few other assets attempt and none (so far) replicate at scale.
Each of the following sectors complements that role:
Jackson’s view is that XRP’s conversion utility does not exist in isolation — it functions within an increasingly modular financial architecture.
To see the full comparison, on-screen documents, and regulatory references Jackson uses to evaluate each asset, watch the complete episode of The Macro.
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