Ripple vs Chainlink: Which Bet on Swift Pays Off?
SWIFT has spent three years running blockchain trials with major banks, and Ripple is not part of any of them. What that means for XRP investors betting on bank adoption is more complicated than it looks.
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Ripple has promoted XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) as an alternative to SWIFT, the traditional messaging network banks use to facilitate payments. Meanwhile, Chainlink (CRYPTO:LINK) has spent years building solutions that let SWIFT connect with blockchain technology. The fundamental question of XRP vs. Chainlink is whether banks will replace SWIFT or extend its capabilities.
As of now, XRP is priced at $1.50, up 22% over the past week, yet it remains down 44% over the past year. Meanwhile, LINK is trading at $12, up 18% over the past week, reflecting a 7% increase in 2026 but a 39% year-over-year drop.
Ripple Sells Banks a Way Around SWIFT, but XRP Captures Only Part of It
Ripple sells payment solutions to banks, utilizing XRP as a bridge asset for cross-border transactions. This means a bank can quickly convert one currency into XRP and then into another currency on the receiving end. This approach directly challenges SWIFT’s role in interbank payments.
However, Ripple can attract business without XRP gaining much traction. For instance, RLUSD, Ripple’s own dollar stablecoin, has seen over $2.4 billion in circulation, with more than half of it operating on Ethereum rather than the XRP Ledger. As a result, even Ripple’s latest products often sidestep XRP, leaving its holders waiting for Ripple’s sales efforts to translate into demand for the coin.
Recently, XRP has gained new access points for institutional investors, especially with U.S. regulated futures trading now available on major exchanges. Spot XRP funds have accumulated $1.7 billion since their launch, allowing funds to buy the coin. However, this does not guarantee that banks are using XRP for payment settlements. Complicating matters further, Congress left XRP’s legal status unresolved when the CLARITY Act failed to pass in the Senate on September 15.
SWIFT Has Tested Tokenized Assets With Chainlink Every Year Since 2023
Chainlink operates as an oracle network, helping to feed real-world information, such as prices or banking instructions, into blockchains, enabling them to act on this data. Its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) allows different blockchains to communicate and share assets seamlessly.
Since August 2023, SWIFT has been collaborating with Chainlink and more than ten major institutions, including Citi, BNP Paribas, and BNY Mellon, to test tokenized asset transfers between Ethereum test networks and various blockchains.
In 2024, SWIFT worked alongside UBS Asset Management and Chainlink to settle tokenized fund trades with ordinary money. By January 2026, they completed tokenized bond trades with partners such as BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Société Générale. Furthermore, in June 2026, Chainlink and over 50 banks launched Project Pangea, designed to enable immediate settlement for euro and Korean won stablecoin swaps using Chainlink technology alongside SWIFT’s established network.
LINK Still Has to Turn Bank Trials Into Paid Traffic
Although Chainlink’s trials show promise, they have not yet resulted in significant revenue. Chainlink earns fees when CCIP processes messages, and LINK holders will see gains once banks begin transacting at scale through the protocol. Currently, no public fee structure exists for any of these projects, leaving future income uncertain.
LINK remains susceptible to broader cryptocurrency market fluctuations, and despite the good news on bank collaborations, it is still down 39% over the past year.
Which Bet Pays Off, XRP or LINK?
In our assessment, Chainlink has a stronger case for winning bank business by a notable margin. SWIFT, the conventional network Ripple aims to replace, has spent the past three years testing solutions with Chainlink and numerous large banks without mentioning Ripple in any of these initiatives.
For XRP, key indicators will be whether a major U.S. or European bank publicly commits to using XRP in live payment scenarios and whether it can surpass $1.84, its 2025 closing price, representing a 23% increase from its current price. Conversely, for LINK, success hinges on moving a SWIFT project from testing to a paid arrangement while keeping the price above $11, which is critical for future growth. Falling below this level could suggest that the positive news related to banks has already been factored into the price.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
