Ripple CTO Breaks Silence on XRP Price Manipulation Claims

In response to accusations of XRP price manipulation, Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz has categorically denied the allegations and responded to the claims. Schwartz, took to X to respond to the accusations and clarify Ripple’s stance on the matter.

Schwartz vehemently refuted the accusations, stating that Ripple had discontinued its programmatic sales of XRP since the first quarter of 2023, as detailed in Ripple’s Q1 2023 XRP Markets Report.

The Ripple CTO’s Stance

Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer emphasized Ripple’s commitment to mitigating any price disruptions resulting from these sales and expressed perplexity regarding the allegations of manipulation.

Schwartz stated, “I don’t believe that our programmatic sales of XRP manipulated the price in any way. I believe we made every attempt to minimize the price impact of our programmatic sales.”

I don't believe that our programmatic sales of XRP manipulated the price in any way. I believe we made every attempt to minimize the price impact of our programmatic sales. I also find the accusation puzzling – what is supposed to be our motive for manipulating the price?

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) February 17, 2024

Community Skepticism and Allegations

Even after Schwartz provided clarifications, doubts persisted in the XRP community regarding Ripple’s sales practices and the effectiveness of its payment solutions. @GenesisLedger accused Schwartz of deceiving the community regarding the discontinuation of programmatic sales, pointing to a decrease in Ripple’s XRP holdings in Q4 2023.

Schwartz countered these allegations by emphasizing Ripple’s transparency in its sales reports and affirming that the provided information was both explicit and comprehensive to avoid any misinterpretations.

Nevertheless, doubts persisted about Ripple’s disclosure of its sales strategies after programmatic sales, leading to continued discussions within the community, particularly as XRP is facing a price decline despite expanding market presence. A user @JustANumber17 claimed;

“Either Ripple is manipulating the price, which sucks, or XRP is just a consistently laggard/poorly performing coin, which sucks, – not sure which one’s worse.”  

Clarifications on Sales Strategies

In light of continuous apprehensions, Schwartz offered in-depth explanations regarding Ripple’s sales methodologies, notably delineating between programmatic sales and sales associated with on-demand liquidity (ODL).

He emphasized that programmatic sales encompassed market-making endeavors geared towards enhancing liquidity through predominantly selling, whereas ODL sales were linked to Ripple’s payment solutions, leveraging XRP as an intermediary currency for global transactions.

Schwartz sought to elucidate Ripple’s operational strategies and their influence on the market dynamics of XRP. His clarifications are important at a time when Ripple is advancing its Payment services in the U.S., aiming to transform cross-border transactions within the country.