Legal Expert Breaks Down XRP’s Appeal as Ripple SWIFT Debate Heats Up
Highlights
- Bill Morgan defends XRP's attraction amid growing Ripple-SWIFT rivalry.
- Debates continue over the permissioned systems by the bank-led ONYX blockchain and Ripple's open model.
- Ripple makes borderless transfers possible, contrasting tightly controlled platforms that global banks favor.
The running rivalry between Ripple and SWIFT resurfaced after a community callout to Ripple’s CEO. XRP supporter Panos Mek tagged Brad Garlinghouse, asking for a new statement on SWIFT. He recalled Garlinghouse’s 2018 remark that described SWIFT’s upgrade as “a Ferrari shell on a Model-T engine.”
Morgan Highlights XRP’s Strengths Amid Rise of Bank-Led ONYX Platform
That request sparked a response from Bill Morgan, a well-known lawyer and supporter of XRP. Morgan responded with a reference to ONYX. ONYX is a permissioned Ethereum-derived platform also called Kinexys, backed by a consortium of more than 30 banks. Also, SWIFT has launched a blockchain pilot and plans a stablecoin rollout in a move to rival Ripple.
Another, admittedly bigger Ethereum-derived, permissioned platform like ONYX (KINEXYS) but how is it better. Certainly it will be at a much larger scale. Definitely a competitor especially with banks.
XRP’s appeal is its decentralized, permissionless, sanction-resistant… https://t.co/RiT9pJDsvW
— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) September 29, 2025
Morgan noted that ONYX may operate on a much larger scale but questioned how it offers any real advantage over XRP. He said XRP is neutral, permissionless and resists censorship. Such qualities, he says, make XRP fundamentally different from platforms designed by banks for banks.
This comes amid a debate about whether Ripple can stay in competition with SWIFT in the cross-border payments space. Ripple has long positioned itself as a faster and cheaper alternative to the traditional SWIFT network. SWIFT, alongside banks and ConsenSys, has even announced a shared blockchain ledger for global payments.
XRP, the digital asset linked to Ripple, has often been criticized as a “bank coin.” Yet Morgan pointed out the irony that while XRP has been labeled this way for years, it is actually the new Ethereum-derived ONYX chain that is purpose-built for a bank consortium.
Ripple’s Open Model Contrasts Bank-Controlled Blockchain Systems
His comments highlight a deeper question in the payments race. Should the future of money movement be controlled by financial institutions through permissioned platforms, or should it remain open through decentralized networks like XRP?
XRP is viewed as an instrument that enables faster payment settlements. Ripple has even outlined tokenization and stablecoins as part of its XRPL DeFi roadmap.
Conversely, ONYX is a riskless method of banks beginning with blockchain usage. The ONYX launch demonstrates that banks are increasingly depending on blockchain. Big banks desire systems that can be inaccessible to many people and that are rules-based Systems.
Ripple and XRP enable individuals to transfer funds around the universe without any middlemen. Also, this demonstrates the significant struggle between open crypto networks and private finance systems.
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