When Bitcoin was created in 2009, it was seen as nothing more than a niche internet experiment. There are plenty of stories about people using the cryptocurrency to buy items like pizza, gift cards, or coffee (a decision they likely rue now).

But as Bitcoin became more popular, many other cryptocurrencies emerged. Some of these have legitimate use cases, and some can be viewed as nothing but a quick cash grab from their creators and early insiders. One cryptocurrency that falls into the former category is XRP (XRP 3.48%).

XRP is a cryptocurrency that enables fast and cheap cross-border payments, and it has had a great run over the past 12 months, up over 390%. That’s over five times the returns of Bitcoin and Ethereum in that span. The recent rally may have investors thinking they missed the wave, but there’s one big reason why there’s still time to hop on the boat.

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Cross-border payments are becoming more frequent

Sending money from one country to another has traditionally been expensive because of the reliance on banks (and pre-funded accounts) and high intermediary fees. However, with the introduction of XRP and other nontraditional sources, these transactions are increasingly becoming cheaper and more frequent.

According to Allied Market Research, the global cross-border payments market was around $206 trillion at the end of 2024. By 2034, it’s expected to be around $414 trillion. This is great news for XRP because it feeds right into its main use case of being a bridge currency to facilitate these transactions.

What traditionally could cost someone 5% to 7% of the transfer amount , XRP is able to do it for fractions of a cent and much faster. If XRP can capture even a small fraction of the cross-border payment flow, it can be a good investment for some time.