In the US crypto market, Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, RLUSD, XRP Ledger, and many other payment services doesn’t need much introduction. Initially founded in 2012 as Opencoin, the company rebranded in 2015, adopting its current name, which has so far ushered in landmark developments within the project’s ecosystem.
With its headquarters in San Francisco, California, Ripple is one of the earliest cryptocurrency businesses to launch in the US. Since its market debut, Ripple has recorded significant growth just like the broader cryptocurrency market.
Despite being around longer than most leading projects, Ripple has yet to have a significant market share in the US cryptocurrency market. Among enthusiasts, there is concern that Ripple may struggle to dominate the US crypto market despite the hype around the ecosystem.
Factors militating against Ripple’s dominance in the US crypto market
One major factor that has dwarfed the dominance of Ripple is the long-standing legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2020, the US SEC indicted Ripple of selling XRP as an unregistered security to institutional investors.
The SEC vs Ripple saga dragged on till 2025 which crippled investors’ trust in the project due to its uncerity. At some point, Ripple won some key rulings and even worked behind the scenes with the SEC to settle the issues, still the case lingers.
Furthermore, while the case is not fully resolved, the issues still affect investors’ confidence. The company struggled to gain more US marker share as it remains stuck in the center of a legal storm.
However, the lack of regulatory clarity is the major catalyst behind the battles Ripple endured in the US market. Under an inconsistent crypto regime, agencies in the US didn’t fully agree on how to classify digital assets.
During this chaotic era, some crypto businesses including Ripple endured serious scrutiny. Meanwhile, crypto enforcement actions from US agencies have cooled down under President Donald Trump.
Additionally, the US market still uses XRP sparingly. Many exchanges once delisted or suspended XRP trading due to the SEC case. Some have since relisted it, but the damage was already done as liquidity and user interest have been long impacted.
In the crypto world, liquidity is critical, a token with limited activity attracts few users. Most companies that prefer stable and deep markets for transactions choose other assets over XRP. Without doubt, the legal tussles has long damaged users’ trust and the company must do well to build trust but it takes time.
Conclusion
By far, Ripple remains a giant in global payments. Over the years, the firm’s technology has been proven while its vision to simplify cross-border payment is clear. Despite this relevance, the project still struggles to establish its presence in the US.
Past legal issues, strong competition, and unclear regulations have all stood in the way. Currently, Ripple is not the only firm offering fast and cheap transactions as there are new networks that provide similar or better features.
Stablecoins like USDC and USDT also dominate cross-border payments. They are widely accepted and supports many blockchain networks. Due to that, companies that once looked at Ripple now explore stablecoin solutions.
The crypto sector over the years has spread to different sectors while the firm remained focused on payment. Some of these sectors include DeFi, gaming, real-world assets tokenization, and stablecoins.
Unlike some of its counterparts, Ripple entered some of these sectors late leaving other projects to dominate in hot niches. For instance, the likes of Tether and Circle have long dominated the US stablecoin despite regulatory scrutiny before Ripple launched RLUSD.
For Ripple to take over the US market, it needs a bigger ecosystem. The project must open its network for developers to build on its network and businesses must start using its tools. Lastly, Ripple, dominating the US crypto market will require clarity, innovation, and time.
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