Ripple Undermining U.S. Prosperity, Bitcoin Reserve: Jack Mallers

Prominent Bitcoin advocate Jack Mallers takes aim at Ripple, saying that the blockchain company is aiming to do ‘everything they can to destroy USA’s bastion of strategic Bitcoin reserves.’

Ripple ‘is spending millions of dollars on corporate lobbying efforts disguised as technological innovation,’ Mallers alleged in a fiery statement on social media.

He says these actions represent a direct threat to the United States’ financial freedom and economic stability.

Ripple has already seen criticism in the crypto industry. But Mallers’ allegations have reignited the debate about what drives the company, namely the decision to pursue a crypto reserve with a broader base rather than a Bitcoin only strategy for the United States.

The Core Allegation: A Threat to Bitcoin’s Strategic Reserve

At the core of Mallers accusations is Ripple’s push for a crypto reserve that’s not solely Bitcoin, and includes tokens such as XRP, USDC, and Solana.

The crypto community remains deeply divided on this proposal, with Bitcoin maximalists considering it Bitcoin’s last attempt to dilute its dominance as the ultimate reserve asset.

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According to Mallers, this move is a shrewd manipulation on Ripple’s part, designed to put its own finances ahead of what the Bitcoin protocol is: a decentralized, secure global standard.

Mallers stated that Ripple is undermining American prosperity and freedom. He states that they’re spending millions of dollars actively trying to stop a strategic Bitcoin reserve in America.

According to him, this is corporate lobbying dressed up as tech growth and we have to fight back.

A prominent crypto commentator Ryan Selkis recently expressed similar concerns, accusing Ripple of explicitly going against the very idea of a Bitcoin only reserve.

He even called out Ripple’s leadership, including Garlinghouse, its chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, and apparently some from the executive management team, for what he called a coordinated effort to chip away at Bitcoin’s standing as the bedrock of a strategic U.S. reserve.

Broader Criticism of Ripple and XRP

The Bitcoin community, which long considered Ripple’s betrayal of the core principles of cryptocurrency, has continued to lambast the company with unending criticism.

The center of this criticism is XRP, Ripple’s native token. Critics claim that XRP’s genesis in which 100 billion tokens were premined, and a large portion gifted to Ripple Labs and its founders, runs afoul of Bitcoin’s foundational ethos of decentralization.

Samson Mow, an analyst for the blockchain has been particularly vocal and compared XRP to a situation where Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto would have pre mined all 21 millions bitcoins and kept the majority thus far for himself.

As a result, Mow asserts that XRP’s centralized supply mechanism prevents it from functioning as a part of the national reserve.

Beyond tokenomics, the critics also note that Ripple controls the XRP ledger. The company and its founders apparently own or control over 50% of all XRP in circulation.

Moreover, it raises questions about the way centralization and ethics play in the company’s operations.

Some critics have argued that this level of centralized control ignores the nature of transparency and fairness associated with Bitcoin.

Ripple’s reach goes beyond fighting for a diversified reserve. In addition, the company has also been accused of actively fighting Bitcoin’s reputation.

Among the most famous campaigns were the one for which Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen funded an effort by Greenpeace to petition for Bitcoin to move away from its proof of work consensus mechanism.

Critics have argued the efforts aim to tarnish Bitcoin’s reputation, promote Ripple’s agenda.