Top Crypto Author Defends XRP Against Bitcoin Maxi’s Criticism, Counters Zombie Coin Accusations

Panos Mekras defended XRP against claims of centralization and irrelevance in a Twitter clash with Bitcoin maximalists, stressing its XRP adoption.

In a heated exchange on Twitter, Panos Mekras, the renowned author of Understanding the Crypto Economy, clashed with prominent Bitcoin maximalist and influencer, TheVladCostea, over the legitimacy and relevance of XRP, currently ranked as the sixth-largest crypto by market capitalization.

The debate ignited when TheVladCostea tweeted a scathing critique of XRP, dismissing it as a centralized ‘bank coin’ with fading utility. She expressed surprise that XRP still held its market position, attributing its popularity to unit bias and the misconception that it had ties to the banking industry.

XRP is somehow the 6th biggest crypto coin in terms of market cap.

It’s centralized, it’s basically a zombie coin in the middle of an identity crisis (remember when it was replacing SWIFT?), I haven’t seen anyone use it since 2018 when Ashton Kutcher did PR for Ripple.

However,…

— Vlad is Breaking FUD (@TheVladCostea) June 18, 2023

Mekras, one of the leading voices in the XRP community, dismissed TheVladCostea’s assertions and likened them to the belief in a flat Earth. He expressed disappointment that such misinformation still circulated in the information-rich era of the internet.

Saying XRP is centralized, nobody uses it, it’s a bankcoin and many other inaccurate things, in 2023, is the same as saying the earth is flat.

In the internet era, where information is free & easily accessible, with open-source code and public blockchains… it’s just shameful. https://t.co/7cqJCElNgd

— Panos 🔺 {X} 🪝 (@panosmek) June 19, 2023

To support his claims, Mekras shared a link to his article titled “Why XRP is the Most Misunderstood Cryptocurrency,” wherein he provided an in-depth analysis of XRP’s technology and debunked common misconceptions.

He also shared a tweet highlighting the decentralized nature of XRP, underscoring that it operated on public blockchains with open-source code.

Hundreds of Projects Build on XRPL and Use XRP 

Furthermore, Mekras pointed to the extensive adoption of XRP in various projects, citing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) as a platform for hundreds of initiatives and tens of use cases. He directed attention to the official XRPL website, where interested parties could explore the diverse applications of XRP.

1. You are clueless and misinformed: https://t.co/E1nCKgVaov
2. XRP is decentralized and has nothing to do with banks https://t.co/vIUNKjQqkp
3. Hundrends of projects are building on XRPL and using XRP for tens of use cases: https://t.co/TIr4bexyF1

— Panos 🔺 {X} 🪝 (@panosmek) June 19, 2023

Mekras also referred to his previous tweet, which emphasized that XRP is for everyone and was designed to disrupt banks’ monopolies and create an open and decentralized payment system, as reported by The Crypto Basic.

Notably, the debate between Mekras and TheVladCostea is just an episode of the numerous arguments concerning XRP’s decentralization. A week ago, Ripple’s CTO joined a discussion about a claim that XRP ‘was not sufficiently decentralized.’