Finance Veteran Says ‘XRP is Scam,’ Community Reacts

Recently, Rajat Soni, a Bitcoin maximalist with a decade of experience in the finance industry, took to X to attack XRP, calling it a scam.

Soni argued that XRP stands little chance of adoption by financial institutions, asserting that banks will opt for Bitcoin over XRP. He went on to outline several reasons for his bold claim that XRP represents a scam.

XRP is a scam.

Banks will never use XRP.

They will use some form of USD or #Bitcoin

Let me explain:

— Rajat Soni, CFA (@rajatsonifnance) December 18, 2023

The Bitcoin Maxi’s False Claims

One of his leading arguments was the false claim that Ripple Labs, the crypto solutions company based in San Franciso, developed XRP. As a result, the Bitcoin maxi claimed that XRP is centralized and that “Banks don’t want to be taken advantage of.”

Furthermore, Soni falsely highlighted that 80% of XRP’s circulating supplies were issued to Ripple Labs. This assertion is notably contradictory, as he previously claimed that Ripple Labs created XRP, diluting the view that Ripple was granted 80% of XRP’s supply.

Additionally, Soni incorrectly stated that Ripple has the ability to alter the code of XRP, enabling them to issue more of the cryptocurrency at their discretion. According to him, the imaginary unilateral control over the code grants Ripple the authority to make such adjustments without external intervention.

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin maxi remarked:

“If the US cracks down on XRP, nobody will use it. When Ripple Labs was sued, XRP’s value dropped significantly.”

While it may be true that XRP’s value dropped amid the litigation, the digital asset has continued to garner usage from the community and the payment industry. Ripple has clarified that the lawsuit never hindered its progress in its payment solution endeavor with other countries.

Besides, Soni stated there appears to be a lack of widespread interest in XRP globally, as it is commonly perceived as a cryptocurrency primarily intended for use by financial institutions. He added:

“If XRP is banned in the US, the value would likely trend towards 0 forever because nobody is using XRP to trade.”

On the contrary, XRP has ranked among the ten most prominent crypto projects since 2014 – before and after the lawsuit. Additionally, XRP is a licensed digital asset in countries like Japan and Dubai.

XRP Community Reacts

Expectedly, these assertions triggered strong responses from the XRP community. Pro-XRP attorney Bill Morgan described Rajat Soni’s post as “The most ill-informed thread ever about XRP. ”

The most ill-informed 🧵 ever about XRP. Given 6 years of ceaseless FUD and 💩 from Bitcoin maxis about XRP that is an incredible achievement. https://t.co/ZCng1NxVRi

— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) December 20, 2023

Renowned crypto author Panos Mekras expressed dismay at the apparent deficiency in basic research skills despite Rajat Soni possessing a CFA designation and a decade of experience in finance. Mekras went on to share a thread he authored in 2018 to provide Soni with factual education about XRP.

Similarly, XRP YouTuber Moon Lambo highlighted the apparent inconsistencies in Rajat Soni’s assertion. “Bad ideas NEED to be challenged,” he added.

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