Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has addressed speculations that the company has abandoned its XRP project, stating that they are still fully committed to it. This aligns with a statement made by a pro-XRP lawyer in 2023, who argued that it would be impractical for Ripple to abandon XRP. The doubts about Ripple’s commitment to the XRP ecosystem have arisen recently within the crypto community. These doubts were fueled by an interview in 2021 where Garlinghouse suggested that exploring alternatives to XRP could be part of their contingency plans in response to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple for unregistered XRP sales.
The decision by Ripple to launch a stablecoin later this year has further fueled the speculation that the company is shifting its focus away from XRP. According to an unconfirmed report, this stablecoin would enable US-based clients to facilitate cross-border settlements using Ripple Payments. Some members of the XRP community interpret this as Ripple favoring stablecoin over XRP for international payments.
Another factor contributing to the speculation is the exclusion of XRP from Ripple’s Liquidity Hub. Ripple had initially announced that the platform would support XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, but later excluded XRP due to regulatory concerns. This decision has raised questions among XRP enthusiasts about Ripple’s commitment to the cryptocurrency.
In response to these speculations, Garlinghouse reiterated at the XRP Las Vegas 2024 event that Ripple is fully committed to XRP. He dismissed any doubts about the company’s support for the cryptocurrency, stating that anyone who thinks otherwise is simply missing the point. This aligns with a statement made by Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton in 2023, who argued that it would be impractical for Ripple to abandon XRP given its substantial ownership of the cryptocurrency.
At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $0.52, experiencing a decline of 2.6% in the last 24 hours and 13% in the last 30 days. Despite the speculations and concerns, Ripple’s CEO’s reassurances and the arguments put forth by the pro-XRP lawyer suggest that Ripple remains committed to the XRP project and its success.