These are some of the reasons…
These are some of the reasons I personally don’t use, hold, or want XRP. No matter its price potential, I see it as nothing more than a gamble. Could it go up against the USD? Sure. But is it a meaningful innovation that unlocks new possibilities for humanity? Absolutely not. XRP is controlled by Ripple Labs, a private company that created it and still holds a massive portion of the supply. While the XRP Ledger is technically open-source, Ripple’s control over the token’s escrow and its influence on the network makes it undeniably centralized.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, is fully decentralized. No company, no founder, and no single entity can control its issuance, governance, or network. Its consensus is achieved through a global network of independent nodes, all enforcing the same transparent rules. XRP runs on the XRP Ledger, but instead of Proof-of-Work, it uses the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm, which relies on a preselected group of trusted validators. This system requires trust—something Bitcoin completely eliminates with its Proof-of-Work, backed by a decentralized and censorship-resistant mining network.
XRP transactions settle in three to five seconds, which is faster than Bitcoin’s base layer. But Bitcoin’s Lightning Network offers instant transactions, with virtually no fees, while maintaining the decentralization and security that XRP cannot replicate. Lightning makes XRP’s “speed advantage” irrelevant. Ripple Labs’ control over XRP’s supply is another massive issue. They release tokens from escrow whenever they want, creating uncertainty and inflation. Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million, with an issuance schedule written into its code, immune to manipulation.
XRP isn’t decentralization. It’s a centralized product, controlled by a company, that can’t compete with the trustless, censorship-resistant, and sound monetary system that Bitcoin is. That’s why I don’t see XRP, or any other crypto, as anything more than a distraction.
#bitcoin #LightningNetwork #xrp