- Legal expert Bill Morgan advises LINK to target Cardano instead of XRP, since ADA’s $31B market cap is a closer goal.
- XRP remains far ahead with a $172B valuation and strong institutional support through ETF filings.
- LINK’s $93B in DeFi value and growing adoption give it momentum to potentially surpass Cardano.
Chainlink has been picking up steam lately, but not everyone agrees with the way its community frames the competition. The conversation has often been about “flipping” XRP, yet legal analyst Bill Morgan says that’s just not realistic right now. Instead, he suggests a pivot: focus on Cardano first. With XRP’s market cap towering more than ten times higher than LINK’s, ADA sits as the closer and far more achievable milestone in the mid-term race.
XRP’s Stronghold and Institutional Edge
The numbers are clear—XRP holds a massive $172.5 billion market cap, while LINK sits at roughly $17.3 billion. Even with LINK’s growth, that gap is simply too wide for a near-term flippening. Meanwhile, XRP is drawing institutional backing, with Tidal Trust II filing for multiple XRP ETFs. Those filings aren’t just symbolic; they hint at deeper recognition of XRP’s long-term role in finance, including proposals for leveraged products tied to it. Ripple’s global partnerships also keep the token firmly planted in traditional financial systems, giving it more reach than LINK can realistically challenge right now.
LINK’s DeFi Muscle and Adoption
Where LINK shines is in its raw adoption metrics. The project has secured over $93 billion in Total Value Secured, compared to XRP’s relatively small $85 million. That puts LINK at the heart of DeFi infrastructure, supporting projects across multiple blockchains. Partnerships with giants like SWIFT and UBS Asset Management show LINK’s reach is no longer just about oracles—it’s pushing into interoperability and tokenization pilots too. On the visibility front, Google Trends even shows LINK pulling ahead of XRP as of July 2025, which reflects how quickly global interest is shifting.
ADA as the Real Rival
When you stack the numbers, Cardano looks like the real competitor. ADA’s market cap hovers around $31.1 billion, a gap of about $14 billion compared to LINK. That’s still a challenge, but one LINK has a realistic chance of closing if its adoption pace continues. At 55% of ADA’s size, LINK is within striking distance, especially with its expanding institutional footprint and DeFi strength. The Cardano ecosystem isn’t standing still either—it continues to grow in developer activity and real-world adoption—but the battle between LINK and ADA feels much more grounded than chasing XRP’s outsized lead.
