Pantera CEO Dan Morehead Says Ripple (XRP) Targets SWIFT's Cross-Border Turf

Pantera CEO Pits Ripple Against SWIFT

Pantera Capital founder and CEO Dan Morehead said in a CNBC Squawk Box interview that Ripple is going after the cross-border payments territory SWIFT has dominated for decades — a comparison that has trailed XRP (XRP) for years without ever being tested at institutional scale. Morehead framed the ambition as one of several major blockchain use cases shaping the industry, alongside Solana's transaction throughput and Bitcoin's role as digital gold, rather than an imminent takeover of the messaging network banks rely on. SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is the dominant messaging system coordinating payment instructions between financial institutions across borders, while Ripple has spent years building settlement infrastructure pitched as faster and cheaper than the correspondent-banking chain. The company's own cross-border payments page states that its platform supports RLUSD, USDC, USDT or fiat — “whichever asset your business requires” — and describes its settlement layer as decoupled from any single issuer's token, an architectural admission that XRP is one option among several in the payment flow, not the sole rail. Ripple's site also reports payout access across more than 60 markets and cumulative processed volume above $100 billion — company-reported figures that say nothing about what share of that volume settles in XRP versus stablecoins or fiat rails. That gap between enterprise-scale totals and token-specific usage has shadowed the company since the SEC filed its December 2020 lawsuit alleging XRP was an unregistered security; Ripple secured a partial win in 2023 when a federal judge ruled the token was not a security when sold to retail investors in spot trading on public exchanges, though the picture around institutional sales stayed unresolved. Investors have repeatedly read such corporate wins as XRP price catalysts even when the two move independently, and reports of an AI-payments integration with Stripe produced similar optimism without settling how much of that flow touches XRP specifically.

Golden Cross Against Bitcoin

On the chart, XRP printed a short-term golden cross against Bitcoin: the 50-period moving average crossed above the 200 on the XRP/BTC four-hour chart, a pattern conventionally read as bullish. The signal landed awkwardly, as the pair marked six red candlesticks in a row while the cross completed, taking bulls by surprise — though the token's short-term outperformance remains intact. Since September 16, XRP has risen steadily versus the XRP/BTC pairing, clearing both the 50 and 200 moving averages on the four-hour and daily charts. The momentum peak came on September 25, when XRP touched $1.65 — its first daily golden cross on the USD chart of 2026 — coinciding with the strongest high-value activity in about a month across the XRP market: on-chain data recorded 1,917 whale transactions worth $100,000, while network growth spiked to 3,647 new wallets. Institutional timing helped: Bitwise filed an updated XRP ETF registration with the SEC on September 18, around which XRP strung together four straight days of gains, and Bitwise later led $22.65 million in XRP spot ETF inflows on September 25. Profit-taking has since set in: XRP was down 1.19% over 24 hours to $1.55 after touching $1.62 in Friday's session, and holders weighing an entry can start with our guide on how to buy XRP. Analysts flag little overhead resistance until $1.60, where roughly 2.50 billion XRP previously changed hands — a likely profit-taking shelf — and the token appears to have completed the right shoulder of a large inverse head-and-shoulders pattern on its daily USD chart, where a decisive break above the neckline could trigger a rally of about 30% toward $2. Some technicians point back to the monthly RSI pocket setups that preceded prior multi-fold rallies. The 365-day MVRV sits at -11.75, meaning the average holder active over the past year remains underwater — downside risk is limited if demand holds, a setup typical of late bear-market conditions. Whales, meanwhile, accumulated more than 470 million XRP — roughly $724 million — in five days and continue to stack. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Bybit.

Token Flow Question Still Open

Both threads point the same way, and both stop short of the number that matters. The most load-bearing primary record here is Ripple's own product page, which confirms stablecoin and fiat settlement options and a settlement layer decoupled from any single issuer's token; until Ripple discloses what fraction of its $100 billion-plus processed volume actually settles in XRP, the SWIFT comparison stays a narrative rather than a measured outcome. Chart structure gives traders a defined level — the $1.60 neckline and the whales' five-day accumulation of more than 470 million XRP — but pattern completion is not token demand. Our reading: track disclosed XRP-settled volume, not headline wins.