Mike Novogratz Warns of Risks for XRP and Cardano - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

# Mike Novogratz Warns of Risks for XRP and Cardano

Tokens like XRP from Ripple and Cardano (ADA) need to prove their real utility, or they risk losing to more successful competitors. This was stated by Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz.

In a conversation with research head Alex Thorn, the company’s CEO noted that the crypto market is shifting from “narrative-based tokens” to those with a solid business foundation.

With each market cycle, investors face more options, and maintaining community engagement becomes more challenging. Tokens that survive solely because of a loyal user base will lose to those that generate profit and provide measurable value, Novogratz emphasized.

In his view, likely winners will be Bitcoin, which has already established itself as money, and protocol coins that will truly become platforms for building businesses.

“Charles Hoskinson, God bless him, has maintained the Cardano community despite not many using the blockchain. They have a strong community, like XRP. Will they be able to preserve it as more and more options emerge?” — asked Novogratz.

He cited the Hyperliquid token as an example of an asset with obvious value. The exchange directs 98% of profits toward buybacks and burning HYPE, which functions as an investment similar to stocks.

“I believe this is the future of tokens. You’ll see good coins trading successfully, just like quality real assets,” — said Galaxy’s co-founder.

Novogratz predicts that in the next one to three years, the industry will undergo a period of transformation. During this time, crypto exchanges and wallets will evolve into neobanks offering stablecoins, tokenized stocks, and money market products.

In September, the entrepreneur admitted he underestimated XRP’s resilience — he did not expect the token to survive the SEC lawsuit against Ripple. The litigation lasted over four years.

However, questions about the real-world application of the token from the California fintech company are regularly discussed in the industry.

In November, doubts about XRP’s utility were expressed by VanEck digital assets research head Matthew Sigel and The Wolf Of All Streets podcast host Scott Melker. At that time, Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz confirmed that the token’s concept does not include earning passive income. XAO DAO co-founder Santiago Veles clarified that the main function of the asset is to serve as a neutral intermediary currency for settlements.

On November 13, spot ETF trading based on XRP by Canary Capital began in the US. The debut session’s turnover of $58 million was the best among all ETFs launched this year. Since launch, the products have not experienced a single week of outflows, unlike market leaders based on Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Source: SoSoValue.## Analysts Do Not Expect a Rapid Rise for XRP

Ripple’s token prices are expected to continue consolidating in the new year, and an upward trend will depend on additional catalysts. This is the opinion of experts surveyed by Cointelegraph.

“We still believe that the second half of 2026 will offer more favorable conditions for risk assets overall. In the short term, we see a bearish sentiment toward altcoins until BTC consolidates or forms a bottom,” — said senior Nansen analyst Jake Kennis.

He refrained from making specific price level forecasts for XRP but highlighted several positive factors for the coin:

• approval of spot ETFs;
• integration with global payment systems;
• increased efforts to transform the token into a “liquid intermediate asset.”

Posidonia21 Capital Partners CEO Jesús Paredes also suggested a sideways trend for XRP at the beginning of the year.

“Growth potential will likely depend more on narrative resilience and market sentiment than on fundamental transformations,” — he added.

A potential driver could be the implementation of staking. However, discussions about mechanisms for additional yield in XRP are still in early stages, Paredes noted.

Recall that on-chain investigator ZachXBT compared the operational models of Ripple, Cardano, and Hedera to financial pyramids.