XRP News Today: Ripple Concept Allegedly Pre-dates Bitcoin by Five Years

A newly uncovered document has sparked significant debate within the cryptocurrency community, claiming that Ripple, a blockchain-based digital payment network, was conceived as early as 2004. This revelation, if verified, would predate the creation of Bitcoin, which was launched in 2009. The document suggests that the concept of Ripple was developed by Ryan Fugger, who envisioned a decentralized network for financial transactions. This early iteration of Ripple was reportedly called "RipplePay" and was designed to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions without the need for traditional banking systems.

The document, shared by XRP community figure SMOQE, includes a 2014 email exchange between prominent industry insiders, notably tech journalist Reutzel Bailey. Bailey suggested that Ripple’s origin dates back to 2004, four years before Satoshi Nakamoto put out the Bitcoin Whitepaper in 2008. This revelation has sparked questions about the true origins of the digital finance revolution. According to Bailey, Ryan Fugger first conceived the idea behind Ripple in 2004, creating a platform called RipplePay. This platform sought to facilitate peer-to-peer value transfer without relying on legacy banking rails. Chris Larsen, now Ripple’s Executive Chairman, later advanced the project. Bailey claims that Larsen took advantage of the growing hype around Bitcoin to steer Ripple in a cryptocurrency direction, despite the project’s original focus not being on a public crypto.

In the email exchange, Jeffrey Cliff rubbished claims that Ripple was launched as a “copycat math-based currency” riding Bitcoin’s popularity. He stressed that “Ripple predates Bitcoin.” This assertion is supported by the timeline, which implies that Ripple’s concept emerged in 2004, while its cross-border payments cryptocurrency XRP was introduced in 2012, four years after Bitcoin’s public debut. This means that while Ripple might be technically older than Bitcoin, BTC is still the world’s first cryptocurrency, launched by Satoshi four years before XRP.

Developers, including Jed McCaleb, started creating the XRP Ledger (XRPL) in 2011. They aimed to create a more efficient system than Bitcoin, addressing its limitations, particularly its reliance on the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. McCaleb convinced Fugger to transform RipplePay into a crypto network, leading to the creation of NewCoin in 2012, which was later renamed OpenCoin and then simply Ripple. The XRPL creators allocated 80 billion XRP to Ripple, with McCaleb personally receiving 9.5 billion XRP. After he departed from Ripple to create Stellar, McCaleb agreed to liquidate his XRP holdings gradually, with the sold in 2022.

The implications of this discovery are profound. If Ripple indeed predates Bitcoin, it would challenge the widely accepted narrative that Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency. This could potentially alter the historical timeline of blockchain technology and the development of digital currencies. The document also raises questions about the origins of blockchain technology and the contributions of various pioneers in the field. However, the authenticity of the document has not been verified, and it remains a subject of intense scrutiny within the cryptocurrency community. Skeptics argue that the document could be a hoax or a misinterpretation of historical events. They point out that the concept of a decentralized digital currency was not widely understood or discussed until the launch of Bitcoin. Furthermore, the lack of concrete evidence or corroborating sources makes it difficult to validate the claims made in the document.

Despite the skepticism, the discovery has reignited discussions about the early days of cryptocurrency and the role of various innovators in shaping the industry. It also highlights the importance of preserving historical records and ensuring the accuracy of information in a rapidly evolving field. As the cryptocurrency community continues to debate the authenticity of the document, one thing is clear: the story of Ripple and its potential origins in 2004 adds a new layer of complexity to the already intricate history of digital currencies.