Ripple exec Reece Merrick says crypto payments are where e-commerce was in 2000 — early, misunderstood and quietly building the plumbing that could make them mainstream.
Merrick likened today’s crypto payments ecosystem to the internet retail market at the turn of the century, when online shopping accounted for roughly 0.2% of global retail and many consumers still “didn’t trust the web with their money.” He argues the same slow, infrastructure-driven phase is under way for crypto payments: the visible use cases are small now, but foundational systems are being built that could enable mass adoption later.
What helped e-commerce go mainstream?
- Broadband, secure payment gateways, widespread card acceptance and smartphones reduced friction and increased trust.
Merrick’s point: crypto needs analogous building blocks — scalable blockchains, robust stablecoins, regulated fiat on-ramps and user-friendly wallets — before payments become a background utility.
How Ripple is positioning itself
- Ripple has focused its product strategy on stablecoins, cross-border payments, tokenized settlement and enterprise infrastructure while lobbying for clearer U.S. digital-asset rules.
- Recent moves include integrating stablecoins on the XRP Ledger: MXNB (a Mexican peso-backed stablecoin launched with Bitso) and RLUSD, which Ripple says can support regulated settlements between the U.S. and Mexico.
- Ripple is also adding tooling for automated payments: its XRPL AI Starter Kit enables software agents to make payments in XRP and RLUSD via the x402 protocol.
Broader industry signals
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has similarly suggested stablecoins could be the primary entry point for businesses using crypto, with treasuries evaluating them for payments and cash management.
- Mastercard’s global settlement network now supports multiple dollar stablecoins (USDC, RLUSD and PYUSD), and the total supply of dollar-backed stablecoins is approaching $300 billion, led by USDT and USDC.
Important caveats and market dynamics
- Widespread use of crypto payments doesn’t mean every consumer will hold or directly manage crypto — like e-commerce, adoption may hide the technology behind simple checkout experiences.
- There’s a distinction between Ripple’s payments traction and demand for XRP itself: banks can leverage the XRP Ledger to move stablecoins and tokenized assets without acquiring large XRP balances, using small amounts of XRP only for fees. That separation means Ripple’s payments growth and XRP price action could follow different paths, influenced by token demand, exchange flows, ETF activity and overall risk appetite.
Bottom line
Merrick’s comparison is a reminder that mainstream normalization often takes years of invisible infrastructure work and better consumer trust. If wallets get easier, stablecoins become reliable and regulation offers clearer protections, crypto payments could quietly become a normal part of commerce — with blockchain settlement working behind the scenes.
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