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It's been a real joy actively engaging with Nostr instead of X recently. It takes some effort, and a very clear intention / change of mindset, but it's absolutely worth it. 🫡 #grownostr

nostr:note16e3gt9qpq3lfs60m52wy9kl95l2uhy7xmm6c4puj9zdrf3qp7szqgg9aka

Replying to

OPD

GM.

There's an XRP fanatic that is promoting their shitcoin on a group chat we're both part of, so I've taken some time to set things straight.

This information has (obviously) had no effect whatsoever on his views, but it wasn't really aimed at him - it was targeted at the other 95 normies that are clueless, and may be led astray.

I thought I would share my response here for those of you that have the same affliction 💩

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The XRP ledger (XRPL) is a highly centralised blockchain, and governments are considering using it for their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Because it is centralised, a government, or governments can easily take control of it, censor it, change the rules / increase the supply of XRP to suit their needs. This is very similar to the dollar-based system we currently have.

For this reason, XRP will never be accepted by other governments as a global, neutral money. It would very clearly not be in their interest.

XRP has lost approximately 90% of its value when denominated in Bitcoin. This chart shows that at the 2017 XRP spike high, you would have to spend 15399 sats (.00015399 of 1 Bitcoin) to buy 1 XRP. Now in 2024, you would only have to spend 1,987 sats. XRP is a TERRIBLE store of value when priced in Bitcoin.

To make the argument that XRP is not centralised, as many XRP advocates do, is evidently false.

Decentralisation is a spectrum. Bitcoin is by far the most decentralised cryptocurrency. Whereas, at the other end of the spectrum, you'll find XRP. In other words, it's not particularly decentralised despite claims by its advocates.

The Bitcoin network operates as a protocol (like the protocol we use for the Internet - TCP/IP) with rules that have not changed since its inception 15 years ago. There is not a company, foundation, marketing department, controlling interests (such as a founder), or any individual / entity that can change the rules of the network. At its inception (and still today), to acquire bitcoin, network participants had to expend energy to validate blocks of transactions (mining) - this is known as 'proof of work'. There are also tens of thousands of nodes on the Bitcoin network spread across the world - mostly made up of individuals that enforce the network rules. This is akin to the rules of chess. There is a wide 'consensus' not to participate in a game if an opponent decides that they want to play with 2 queens!

In contrast, XRP was launched 3 years after Bitcoin by a company called Ripple labs, co-founded by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb. At inception, Chris and Jed allocated more than 50% of the supply of XRP to Ripple labs (to themselves). So, they have a majority stake in the network, which they allocated to themselves. Also unlike Bitcoin, the consensus mechanism is akin to a 'proof of stake' network, rather than 'proof of work'. The XRP Ledger relies on a group of trusted validators (currently around 150 financial institutions, tech companies, universities, independent developers, and non-profits) to reach agreement on the state of the ledger.

This means that validators do not 'stake' tokens in the same way as in typical 'proof of stake' systems; rather, they are selected based on their reputation and reliability. However, the significant ownership of XRP by Ripple Labs and the allocation of a large portion of the supply to its founders contribute to the centralization of control over the network.

Governments and financial institutions like XRP (Ripple) because they are happy to abide by financial compliance rules. In other words, they're happy to make sure that the network, and the constituent transactions on the network are COMPLIANT WITH GOVERNMENT'S REGULATIONS. For this reason alone, I think it's a very big stretch to call XRP decentralised.

Bitcoiners and XRP advocates are not the same.

The WHOLE POINT of Bitcoin is to separate money from state. Rules, WITHOUT rulers. It is a system, where you don't have to TRUST ANYONE.

Personally, I believe that most XRP advocates (and advocates for any other cryptocurrency aside from Bitcoin) are happy to just 'get rich'.

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OPD 1y ago

Here's the chart I referenced: