Former Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks believes the price fluctuations of crypto assets like XRP are as insignificant as the early volatility of Google’s stocks.

Brooks shared this perspective in a discussion at The Aspen Institute, clarifying the core purpose of cryptocurrencies. According to him, the focus on short-term price movements detracts from the broader mission of cryptocurrencies. 

XRP Price Is As Irrelevant as Google’s Early Volatility

Brooks stressed that the real value of crypto like XRP lies in its potential to replace centralized financial systems with decentralized networks that prioritize user control over bank CEO control.

During the discussion, he highlighted that most people misunderstand cryptocurrencies, believing their success hinges on their ability to replace fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. However, he argued that this is a narrow perspective. 

“The biggest misunderstanding of this whole discussion is the belief that if crypto is not doing a great job of replacing the US dollar, then it’s failing in its mission,” Brooks stated. 

Instead, he drew a compelling analogy between the early volatility of Google stocks and the price movements of digital assets like XRP.

Brooks pointed out that cryptocurrencies are more akin to internet stocks—investments in the future of digital and decentralized networks. 

Just as one would invest in Google based on the anticipation of increased internet traffic, investing in cryptocurrencies reflects a bet on the growing adoption of decentralized financial systems.

“So, for me, prices are not that relevant—no more than Google’s volatility was. In the early days of Google, that was super volatile,” Brooks remarked.

Essentially, the industry pundit believes the price fluctuations in crypto markets are secondary to their fundamental purpose and that the volatility of cryptocurrencies like XRP has little bearing on their overall significance.

Bearish Market is Good Time for Business, Ripple Exec

It is worth noting that Brian Brooks’ comments on the irrelevance of crypto volatility were made during the depths of the previous bear market.

At the time, assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP had suffered significant losses from their earlier highs. Although the market has since shifted to a bullish trend, volatility remains a concern, particularly on the downside.

Market analyst Collin Brown recently revisited Brooks’ sentiment, cautioning investors to look beyond XRP’s current price action. 

This advice comes as XRP is currently trading at $0.6, a staggering 84% decline from its all-time high of $3.84. This drop has understandably hurt earlier investors.

Meanwhile, Brooks Entwistle, a senior vice president at Ripple, who was also present at the conversation with Brian Brooks, expressed that periods of volatility are not only normal but also beneficial for the industry in the long run. 

“Winter time is a fabulous time to build businesses and to really define use cases for digital assets,” he said.

XRP witnesses significant trading volume on cash markets, with over 85 billion tokens traded by market participants every month.

Recall that American derivatives firm Bitnomial recently unveiled its plans to launch XRP/USD Futures contracts. This move has been described as a crucial step toward the potential future launch of a spot XRP ETF by an asset manager in the United States.

However, amid the excitement, Australian-based pro-crypto attorney Bill Morgan highlighted some important data from Bitnomial’s submission to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), including XRP’s impressive monthly trading volume.

XRP Trade Volume

One of the most striking details revealed by Bitnomial is that over 85 billion XRP tokens are traded on cash markets every month. Data from CoinMarketCap confirms this claim, with XRP’s trading volume averaging $1.6 billion daily over the past few weeks. 

Notably, this figure sees occasional spikes during periods of heightened trading activity and price surges. For instance, earlier this month, XRP’s daily volume crossed $5 billion amid the price increase triggered by the final ruling in the SEC v. Ripple case, with South Korean exchanges accounting for most of the figure.

Also, XRP witnessed a surge in trade volume last July following the declaration by Judge Analisa Torres that it is not a security in the summary judgment ruling. Remarkably, XRP’s volume hit $10.4 billion, but this figure was merely the 76th highest in XRP’s history.

Meanwhile, Attorney Morgan also pointed out that Bitnomial’s proposal includes a spot month position limit of 300 million XRP, equivalent to about 0.049% of the total supply. 

He stressed that this position limit is notable because it closely mirrors the amount Ripple releases from its monthly escrow, which is often a point of contention among critics who argue that these releases negatively impact XRP’s price. 

Ample Regulatory Compliance

Bill Morgan also pointed out that Bitnomial’s filing with the CFTC includes a U.S. clearinghouse license, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. This addresses concerns about market manipulation and the protection of participants. Bitnomial obtained a clearinghouse license from the CFTC last December.

Moreover, the July 2023 summary judgment ruling in Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, in which the court ruled that XRP is not a security in itself, has bolstered confidence in XRP’s regulatory standing. 

This ruling, combined with Bitnomial’s CFTC-approved futures contracts, could further legitimize XRP in the eyes of regulators and investors, potentially accelerating the timeline for a spot ETF launch.

The introduction of XRP/USD Futures by Bitnomial is also about paving the way for a spot XRP ETF. Futures contracts are often a precursor to spot ETFs because they provide a regulated framework and pricing mechanism that can be used as a reference by potential ETF issuers.