Multi-millionaire investor Mike Novogratz has warned the financial community about a crucial shift in crypto’s narrative for 2026, as assets of real-world utility & high-business adoption rates prevail. The CEO of Galaxy said “XRP & Cardano could fade” if they fail to deliver real-world utility in 2026.
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This has caught the attention of Tom Zschach, the Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at SWIFT. Despite SWIFT recently calling XRP & the likes for a collaboration that’s supposed to decide the financial future, SWIFT’s CIO hinted at major-cap altcoins like Cardano (ADA) & Ripple (XRP) not being able to rely on hype anymore.
Utility Over Hype, SWIFT Chief Declares
“The next cycle won’t be decided by the loudest communities but by what continues to function when belief is no longer a subsidy and the balance sheet becomes the referee”. Alluding to SWIFT, Mr. Zschach described how some financial systems are designed to survive the bear markets, when they’re forced to justify their existence.
Just a while ago, SWIFT started XRP, HBAR & XLM testing on their 50 year-old payment rails, expecting to bring an immediate solution to the merchants. Right now, SWIFT’s regular transfers can take up to four business days, while most merchants expect a one-hour window to be the new gold standard.
To make this happen, Ripple’s XRP Ledger could be the top contender – at least technically speaking. The business adoption requirement is easily fulfilled with Ripple’s 300 traditional banking & payment system integrations, including Santander, TransferGo!, SEB & others.
SWIFT’s Choice Relies On These Factors
Ripple’s native ledger is able to settle transactions in seconds, handling up to 1,500 transactions per second (TPS). As the trading volumes usually top $5 billion a day on both Spot & Futures markets, the OG altcoin proved itself in the cross-border payment field.
Despite the spicy remarks from SWIFT’s CIO, an integration is still on the cards due to Ripple’s natural compatibility with SWIFT’s ISO 20022 global messaging standard. This fully kicks in during the first weeks of 2026, but XRP is seeing fierce competition.
Other ISO 20022 compliant & test-approved altcoins like Stellar Lumens (XLM) & Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) have their own advantages. Hedera’s DLT chain can handle up to 10,000 TPS, while Stellar Lumens (XLM) targets a 5,000 TPS ratio by the beginning of 2026.
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He warned narratives thrive in easy capital but utility wins when it tightens—implying XRP/ADA are story-driven, not built for real tests, with balance sheets as the ultimate judge.
It echoes Mike Novogratz’s call for real-world utility; Zschach suggests some systems (hinting at SWIFT-linked) were designed for survival, while others rely on hype and loud communities.
In tight markets, financial strength and real function decide winners—not belief or subsidies. Systems must justify existence via proven value, not stories.
Mr. Zschach predicts it won’t favor the noisiest groups but what functions when capital dries up—shading community-heavy tokens like XRP/ADA.
Posted Dec 28, 2025, replying to Coin Bureau on Novogratz’s warning. As SWIFT CIO, his words carry weight on payments/utility vs. speculative crypto.
