XRP needs a Solana-style strategy to keep up: Ripple executive

"Luke Judges, global partner success lead and director of Ripple, shared observations about the evolving XRP Ledger ecosystem and its competitive landscape, highlighting a clear parallel to the operational successes of rival layer-1 network Solana. Drawing on his prior experience in the Solana network managing a substantial validator, Judges suggested that technical superiority alone is not enough to secure a network's long-term relevance."

"Luke Judges states that technical strength alone cannot guarantee long-term competitiveness, suggesting that XRP could benefit from Solana's pragmatism and execution speed. Judges believes Solana's market traction comes from practical engineering and a fast go-to-market strategy rather than protocol design alone. David Schwartz takes the opposite position, arguing that XRPL's reliability and stability are more valuable than pursuing high-throughput chains."

"Judges' perspective is unique and rooted in his experience operating two startups and running a Solana validator that managed more than $30 million in staked tokens through a full market cycle. He shared this detail on Nov. 30, 2025, on X, noting that he witnessed the network's major price peak as well as its subsequent collapse and recovery. This hands-on exposure led Judges to conclude that the success of layer-1 networks in a competitive cycle is often driven by factors distinct from core technology."

Operational experience operating a Solana validator that managed over $30 million in staked tokens suggests layer-1 network success depends on factors beyond core protocol design. Pragmatism, rapid execution, and a fast go-to-market approach help secure developer mindshare and drive adoption. Developer onboarding, tooling, and validator incentives are essential to sustain growth while reducing centralization risk. High-throughput ambitions can conflict with reliability; reliability and stability of a ledger may be more valuable for long-term competitiveness than pursuing maximum throughput. Practical engineering and strong operational incentives produce market traction and shape competitive outcomes among layer-1 networks.

Read at Cointelegraph