Ripple's XRP: Why Its Chances of Success Are Low - Ep.58

In this show, recorded without the participation of Ripple (explanation included in the show), Ryan Selkis, CEO and founder of Messari and Matt Leising, Bloomberg reporter, discuss Ripple's XRP, the third-largest coin by market cap. We go over whether or not it plays an essential role in Ripple's products, why banks are unlikely to adopt it, and why it's centralized. We also discuss whether or not it's an unregistered security (although the class-action lawsuit alleging XRP is an unregistered security being sold in a "never-ending ICO" came out after we recorded -- link below). We also discuss recent attempts by XRP to get it listed on top crypto exchanges, and how, as Selkis puts it, there's a fine line between some of its business activity and bribes. We also ponder the question: If XRP is meant for banks and financial institutions, why should everyday people own XRP?

Ryan Selkis: https://messari.io/

https://twitter.com/twobitidiot

Matt Leising: https://twitter.com/mattleising

https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AGfq0QVqo0I/matthew-leising

Full text of class-action lawsuit against Ripple: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5938711a9de4bb74f63b4059/t/5aebc4112b6a28e0ef4a0381/1525400594617/Coffey+v+Ripple+Labs+Complaint.pdf

Bloomberg article on lawsuit: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-04/ripple-hit-with-class-action-suit-over-never-ending-ico

Matt's article on why big banks have no interest in using XRP: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-25/ripple-wants-xrp-to-be-bitcoin-for-banks-if-only-the-banks-wanted-it

How Ripple tried to buy its way onto crypto exchanges: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-04/ripple-is-said-to-struggle-to-buy-u-s-listing-for-popular-coin

Ryan's post on XRP: https://medium.com/@twobitidiot/i-still-see-you-xrp-815369a539ea

Izabella Kaminska's article on XRP: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/01/05/2197220/the-ripple-effect/

CoinDesk article on XRP: https://www.coindesk.com/ripples-xrp-giving-third-largest-cryptocurrency-second-look/

XRP chat post by David Schwartz: https://www.xrpchat.com/topic/5280-valuation-models-xrp-the-digital-currency-vs-ripple-the-company/?tab=comments#comment-50182 

Another post by David Schwartz on how XRP is not required: https://www.quora.com/Is-XRP-not-required-for-the-Ripple-Swift-replacement/answer/David-Schwartz-9

Bitmex post on XRP: https://blog.bitmex.com/the-ripple-story/

The dueling lawsuits between Ripple and R3 over XRP: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/09/08/blockchain-enterprise-firms-r3-and-ripple-sue-each-other-over-1-billion-of-cryptocurrency/

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