Despite XRP’s (CRYPTO: XRP) $180 billion market cap surpassing BlackRock, crypto investors remain skeptical, citing its centralized structure, lack of fundamental value, and outdated bridge currency model.
What Happened: Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, sparked a heated discussion on X by questioning why XRP remains one of the most disparaged crypto assets, prompting responses from investors and analysts who outlined several reasons for their skepticism.
Many in the crypto community argue that XRP's centralized nature undermines its credibility.
One user, Hiphopsince19, pointed out that XRP operates on a permissioned blockchain where a small, approved group controls the network, requiring 80% consensus for major changes, concentrating power among a select few.
They also noted that the public ledger begins at record 32,570, leaving early transactions unverifiable, raising transparency concerns.
Critics also question XRP's utility as a bridge currency.
Another user argued that bridge currencies like XRP do not accrue value due to equal buying and selling in transactions, and modern alternatives—smart contract blockchains paired with stablecoins and Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK), have rendered XRP obsolete for cross-border payments.
This sentiment was echoed by jazzappreciator, who recently sold their XRP for Chainlink, citing banks' shift toward stablecoins and Chainlink's live infrastructure in capital markets.
Technical shortcomings further fuel doubts.
Materkel highlighted XRP's permissioned blockchain, which prevents trustless validator participation, a core principle of decentralized crypto.
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They noted XRP's low transaction throughput of 16 TPS despite claims of higher capacity, and a mere 59 full-time developers compared to thousands on Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).
Additionally, Ripple holds roughly 50% of XRP's supply, allegedly using it to manipulate markets and fund enterprise value for shareholders rather than token holders.
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is also criticized for lacking basic features like smart contracts, with CatfishFishy noting that even Ripple issues 90% of its stablecoin RLUSD on Ethereum due to XRPL's limitations.
Only 0.014% of XRP's supply has been burnt, signaling low network activity and relevance.
Skeptics also point to questionable partnerships.
The skepticism was echoed by blockchain investigator ZachXBT, who said, "Ripple holders provide nothing of value to the industry except exit liquidity for insiders thus are not worth supporting (likewise with Cardano, Pulsechain, Hedera, etc)."
Hiphopsince19 cited Gemini's IPO filing, revealing Ripple provided a $75 million credit line, potentially up to $150 million, to promote an XRP rewards credit card, suggesting some partnerships are paid marketing rather than organic adoption.
Martypartymusic dismissed XRP as "not good software," arguing that retail traders misunderstand its value due to its low per-token price, ignoring the impact of its large circulating supply on market cap.
Ethereanbull went further, stating XRP "is not crypto" due to its centralized structure, fundamentally at odds with crypto's ethos.
What’s Next: While XRP's market cap reflects speculative enthusiasm, these criticisms—centralization, lack of fundamental value, outdated technology, and questionable partnerships, explain why many crypto investors remain wary, even as its valuation soars.
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