XRP News Today: Custodia Bank CEO Slams XRP as Centralized Amid Heated Validator Pushback

Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank and a well-known Bitcoin advocate, has publicly cast doubt on Ripple’s XRP, claiming it cannot be trusted due to alleged centralization and lack of transparency [1]. Her comments, featured in a video by Cheeky Crypto, sparked significant backlash from the XRP community, who argue that her criticisms are either misinformed or biased. Long accused Ripple of launching in a manner similar to an initial coin offering (ICO), retaining significant control over the network, and failing to meet modern financial standards [1].

In response, an XRPL validator known as Vette challenged Long’s claims, clarifying that Ripple did not conduct an ICO. Instead, 100 billion XRP tokens were created at the ledger’s genesis in 2012, with the majority retained by the company’s founders and sold over time through over-the-counter deals and programmatic sales [1]. Vette also emphasized the decentralized nature of the XRP ledger, highlighting that it now operates on more than 1,000 nodes and over 100 active validators, many run by third-party entities. The network is permissionless, allowing any participant to join and validate transactions, and Ripple has gradually reduced its influence on the default validator list [1].

A key point of debate was the perceived double standard in Long’s criticism. While she praised Bitcoin for launching without any fundraising event, she overlooked that Ethereum also conducted a documented crowdsale in 2014. XRP supporters argue that this inconsistency undermines Long’s credibility and highlights the subjective nature of her critique [1]. The discussion also extended to Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, with Long suggesting its issuance partly on Ethereum indicated the failure of the XRP ledger. However, Ripple advocates countered that the dual-launch strategy was a strategic move to integrate with the broader DeFi ecosystem, not a rejection of XRP’s capabilities [1].

Long further questioned Ripple’s track record, noting that SWIFT still dominates the cross-border payment market despite the company’s decade-long operation. The XRP community, however, pointed to Ripple’s progress in areas such as on-demand liquidity services, NFT support, tokenization features, and participation in central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots [1]. The company also recently won a landmark legal ruling against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with XRP being declared not a security.

Cheeky Crypto’s coverage suggested that Long’s criticisms may have lacked full context or were shaped by personal bias. While Ripple has not yet replaced SWIFT or achieved widespread adoption of XRP, the platform continues to evolve and maintain a strong presence in the blockchain space. The debate underscored ongoing discussions around Ripple’s role in shaping the future of cross-border payments and digital assets [1].

Source: [1] Respected Banker Says Ripple (XRP) Cannot Be Trusted (https://captainaltcoin.com/respected-banker-says-ripple-xrp-cannot-be-trusted-reveals-some-dark-truths/)