Vitalik Buterin Realized XRP Beats Bitcoin

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, where rivalries often shape perceptions more than facts, a resurfaced clip featuring Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has reignited one of the industry’s oldest debates — the true “Internet of Value.”

The viral moment, recently shared by crypto analyst Levi Rietveld on X, has stirred renewed discussions around Ripple’s XRP Ledger and its long-recognized advantage in global payments technology.

Vitalik's Unexpected Admission

In the short video clip, Vitalik Buterin is seen reflecting on the early vision of blockchain networks and how they compare to Ripple’s architecture. He remarks that while people often speak of “cryptocurrency 2.0” as the Internet of Value, it is actually Ripple that fulfills that description.

He went further to clarify that Ethereum, unlike Ripple, functions as “an arbitrary processor for state transaction functions” rather than a dedicated global value network.

The resurfaced statement, though made nearly a decade ago, underscores a critical differentiation that many in the crypto industry have since come to acknowledge: Ripple designed the XRP Ledger (XRPL) specifically to facilitate instant, low-cost value transfer, a task that neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum was originally optimized for.

Ripple’s Edge in the Payments Race

While Bitcoin was built to serve as a decentralized, censorship-resistant store of value, Ripple’s technology was engineered with a practical mission: to modernize the global payments infrastructure. The XRPL enables near-instant settlement, minimal fees, and seamless liquidity management across currencies and borders.

This distinction has made XRP a preferred choice for institutions and fintech firms seeking efficiency in cross-border payments. Ripple’s growing ecosystem of partnerships with banks, payment providers, and even governments reflects the real-world validation of its design philosophy, one that Vitalik himself once acknowledged, long before the term Internet of Value became a mainstream narrative.

Levi Rietveld Revives the Debate

By reposting this historical clip, Levi Rietveld reignited discussions about the core purpose of various cryptocurrencies. His post framed Buterin’s words as a subtle yet powerful recognition that XRP’s architecture solves problems Bitcoin never intended to address.

Rietveld’s timing is notable; it comes amid a period of heightened attention on Ripple’s institutional expansion and increasing speculation about XRP’s growing role in global financial networks. His commentary positions XRP not merely as an alternative crypto asset but as a pivotal infrastructure layer that aligns with the financial industry’s evolving needs.

What This Means for the Crypto Landscape

The resurfaced clip doesn’t diminish the significance of Bitcoin or Ethereum, but it does highlight how different blockchains excel in different domains. Bitcoin remains the undisputed leader in digital scarcity and store-of-value properties, while Ethereum continues to dominate decentralized applications and smart contracts.

Ripple and the XRPL, however, stand out as purpose-built systems for the movement of value — the very use case that Vitalik once identified as Ripple’s defining advantage.

Levi Rietveld’s post has therefore sparked more than nostalgia — it has revived a deeper discussion about crypto utility versus ideology. As Ripple continues to expand its payment infrastructure globally, Vitalik’s decade-old remark now feels prophetic.

In the realm of utility, efficiency, and real-world adoption, it seems even the Ethereum co-founder once realized what many institutions are discovering today: when it comes to moving value seamlessly across the world, XRP may indeed beat Bitcoin.