I think Ripple is rising fast is because people understand it.

I think you're right, and it's discouraging.

"Why bitcoin? I'll use a credit card." - Because bitcoin isn't a credit card, bitcoin is a less-traceable, more portable sink of value for people attempting to shelter earnings.

"They look at ether and ask if they really need to buy a cryptokitty."

Without recognizing that cryptokitties are derivatives and that investors trade in derivatives all day long. On the face of it yeah, it's stupid as hell but I guess the market cap of Dogecoin crossed a billion dollars yesterday.

Ripple? Yeah, it's a marker for banks to talk to other banks. Except the banks already have Hyperledger. And they already have fractional reserve banking. And they already have the ACH settlement network.

But primarily, it's a lower number. My cousin told me he wasn't investing in Ether or Bitcoin because "he didn't have that much money to spend." At a certain level, we've got speculators that don't even understand you can buy fractionally.