Are Ripple and XRP really ‘undermining the U.S strategic BTC reserve?’

• Bitcoin maxis have slammed Ripple for ‘undermining’ a U.S BTC reserve
• XRP has outperformed the world’s largest cryptocurrency by +330% since November 2024

The crypto community is divided on the issue of a “national crypto stockpile,” with top Bitcoin maxis alleging that Ripple is now “undermining: an exclusive U.S BTC strategic reserve.

In a recent X post, Strike’s Jack Mallers claimed that the firm had used millions of dollars to sideline the king coin. 

“Ripple is undermining American prosperity, freedom, and Bitcoin. Ripple is actively lobbying to stop a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve in the U.S. while pushing their centralized, corporate-controlled token. We will not stand for it.”

For perspective, President Donald Trump issued a crypto executive order to set up a national digital asset stockpile and drive digital financial innovation in the United States. This could be likely within 180 days after the mandated working group finalizes a legislation framework. 

By extension, the update confirmed the initial speculation that entailed the potential creation of a ‘Made in USA’ crypto reserve, including XRP, HBAR, SOL, ADA, etc. However, key players’ diverse positions on the issue have become evident, going by the barbs being traded online. 

Ripple under siege

Here, it’s worth pointing out that Ripple, Kraken, and Circle have been vying for a seat within the yet-to-be-formed President’s Trump Crypto Council – The key coordinating group for crypto policy. However, the allegations go beyond that. 

One user claimed that unlike gold and Bitcoin, which are scarce and not centralized, XRP’s supply is primarily controlled by Ripple and doesn’t fit the criteria for a reserve asset. 

“XRP doesn’t fully meet these criteria due to its strong association with Ripple and the company’s control over a large portion of its supply. Bitcoin and Gold don’t have a CEO or marketing team lobbying for it.”

For his part, Ryan Selkis, Co-founder of Messari, blasted Ripple’s leadership for supporting Democratic senators in the last election. This, despite the infamous enforcement actions from previous Democrat-led SEC. 

“The reason FairShake PAC donated to Senate DEMS that hate us has to do with two people, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Lehane, who Brian Armstrong won’t remove from his board.”

For perspective, Chris Larsen, one of Ripple’s founders, donated over $10M to the Kamala Harris campaign. No Ripple executive had commented on the allegations at press time. 

That being said, long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff downplayed the call for an exclusive SBR, stating that it would not solve U.S fiscal deficits. He said,

“The government wasting taxpayer money buying Bitcoin only benefits Bitcoin owners who sell their tokens to the government at the expense of everyone else. It’s an inflationary policy that will lower living standards.” 

In the meantime, Polymarket’s odds of a U.S XRP reserve in 2025 were just 21%, compared to 60% for SBR. However, on the XRP/BTC chart, XRP has outperformed BTC by +330% since last November.  

Finally, it’s worth highlighting that the pair hit its 2021 cycle peak, something that could trigger a reversal or a blow-off top. 

Source: XRP/USDT, TradingView