David Schwartz, Ripple’s chief technology officer, settled the renewed debate over XRP (XRP) assets, asserting that the concept of the former payment network predated Bitcoin (BTC) by five years, but XRP itself did not.
Schwartz responded to X after a social media post claimed that XRP predated Bitcoin by decades. The post described XRP as the oldest digital asset, a designation that Schwartz addressed directly, drawing a sharp line between the early concept and the currency managed by Ripple today.
Designed by Ryan Fieger in 2004
Ryan Fugger conceptualized a decentralized payment and settlement network around 2004. He conceptualized this roughly five years before Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper.
Schwartz confirmed the timeline on X but pointed out a crucial omission. Fugger’s design did not include any decentralized assets. His system, later known as RipplePay, was a trust-based credit network.
Users channel value through pre-existing trust relationships rather than a shared cryptographic ledger. There was no native token and no open assets that could be traded independently.
Schwartz addressed discrimination on X.
However, this disconnect is important. Bitcoin provided bearer open assets secured by proof of work. The XRP Ledger brought its own model of decentralized value transfer, but it arrived after Bitcoin, not before it.
XRP was launched three years after Bitcoin
The XRP Ledger was launched in 2012, three years after Bitcoin’s genesis block was mined in January 2009. Jed McCaleb, Arthur Brito, and Schwartz built the protocol together before Ripple took over oversight.
This timeline directly deconstructs the 1988 claim. The Fugger concept may predate Bitcoin, but the concept is not a coin. The launch of the XRP Ledger and the XRP token dates back to 2012.
This distinction carries weight beyond historical accuracy. The CEO of Ripple has also done so He criticized the Bitcoin company’s strategyThis reflects broader tensions between the two communities.
The debate reflects a pattern seen across the cryptocurrency industry. Origin stories often confuse the idea with its execution. Earlier this year, Demanding the creation of the Bitcoin CIA He faced widespread opposition through a similar dynamic.
XRP holds near $1 as Ripple expands into Europe
the Token Recently tested $1 Psychological level Amid a sharp slide from its previous highs. Some investors still treat the currency as… Hedging against long-term inflationAlthough analysts found it difficult to support the math at current prices.
Schwartz has remained active in the community beyond the issue of assets. It is recently Discuss investing versus gambling In a post that sparked a round of discussion of its own among its owners.
The extent of XRP’s roots may be less important than the direction Ripple is headed. The company recently acquired European MiCA approvalvia a Luxembourg license, expanding its regulatory footprint across the continent.
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