Better Altcoin Buy: XRP vs. Stellar (XLM)

Stellar (CRYPTO: XLM) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) began as cross-border payment systems created by the same person, Jed McCaleb, but today, they compete in the market for real-world asset tokenization -- financial assets such as Treasuries and stocks that are held on-chain as a tradeable token. And given that the value of tokenized assets will grow from $35 billion today to as much as $5.5 trillion by 2030, it's going to continue to be the most important arena where these two coins will be judged during the next five years and beyond.

So which is the better altcoin buy?

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Stellar

Much like XRP, Stellar is intended for use by a handful of financial institutions, and it already has some traction on that front.

Asset manager Franklin Templeton launched the first U.S.-registered tokenized mutual fund on the chain in 2021, and it now holds more than $650 million in assets on the network.

Native protocol level compliance tooling is why. All sorts of compliance functions are built directly into Stellar's base ledger, so asset managers can get regulatory-grade controls without deploying custom smart contract code as they would need to do on other chains. As a result, the total value of tradeable tokenized assets on Stellar is nearly $3 billion, up almost 10-fold from the start of 2025.

The wildcard in play right now is the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which manages more than $114 trillion in U.S. securities. In May 2026, DTCC picked Stellar as the first public blockchain to host tokenized Russell 1000 stocks, major index exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and Treasuries, with a full rollout targeted for the first half of 2027.

Stellar won't be onboarding all $114 trillion of that capital. But getting even a sliver of it could be enough to attract billions more to the network, which would probably send the price of the coin soaring.

Why XRP is pulling ahead

The problem for Stellar is that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is positioned vastly better despite having a smaller base of tradeable tokenized assets today.

The XRPL's total tokenized asset value has climbed to $323 million, up nearly $100 million since the start of the year.

That growth is due to Ripple's aggressive institutional buildout, which is also setting the stage for an even bigger run during the next few years. Ripple spent $1.2 billion on the acquisition of the prime broker Hidden Road, which it rebranded as Ripple Prime. That deal made it the first crypto company to own and operate a global multi-asset prime broker, opening institutional financing rails that Stellar's nonprofit sponsor can't match. And that's before even getting into Ripple's other recent acquisitions, such as a crypto custody company, which will make the XRPL closer to a turnkey solution for financial institutions looking to manage their tokenized assets.

XRPL has also been the leader in institutional-grade features. Its permissioned domains, which were activated in February, let regulated financial businesses build gated on-chain venues that meet their know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering rules.

Then there's another sign of XRP's better institutional positioning, its exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Spot XRP ETFs have pulled in more than $1.4 billion in cumulative net inflows, but comparable ETFs do not yet exist for Stellar.

The verdict

XRP is the better altcoin buy here.

It has a for-profit sponsor that's deploying vast sums of capital to shore up its institutional money plumbing, and ETF access that widens investor demand in ways Stellar cannot yet match.

But, if DTCC's Stellar integration produces meaningful transaction volume through 2027 and 2028, this verdict will deserve a revisit.

Alex Carchidi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.