Ripple has become so popular over the months, and I think that the coin has duly earned it. We have witnessed the coin overthrow the king of altcoins twice, and also experience many pumps in its price. I think that this is one of the major reasons why the coin has become so popular, and has won the hearts of many.
Except XRP is not a cryptocurrency, it's a centralized scamcoin based on the Ripple protocol.
As someone stated, it's a stepping point, another staircase before true crypto/blockchain adoption.