Ethereum Expert Sheds Light on Vitalik Buterin Interest in Ripple and XRP

Early Ethereum adviser Steven Nerayoff sheds light on speculation surrounding Vitalik Buterin’s past interests in XRP and Ripple Labs.

Steven Nerayoff, an early Ethereum adviser, has shed light on Vitalik Buterin’s past interests in Ripple after some XRP community members speculated that the Ethereum co-founder was obsessed with the blockchain payment company.

Buterin’s Interest in Ripple

In 2019, Buterin revealed that he attempted to be an intern at Ripple Labs as far back as mid-2013. However, the United States government denied Buterin the opportunity to work with Ripple, as his visa was rejected.

Things became more interesting earlier this year after former Ripple director Matt Hamilton, during a debate on top decentralized finance projects, claimed Buterin used to sleep on the company’s CTO David Schwartz’s couch while he sought the internship opportunity.

– Advertisement –

Nerayoff & Buterin Discussed About Ripple

In a recent discussion, prominent XRP community member “Digital Asset Investor” asked Nerayoff to clarify whether Buterin was genuinely interested in Ripple Labs.

Responding, Nerayoff noted that he had no idea about the question raised by Digital Asset Investors. According to Nerayoff, Buterin only informed him about his previous attempt to build on the Bitcoin network.

However, Bitcoin developers rejected Buterin’s proposal to implement smart contracts on the popular blockchain network.

Notably, Nerayoff said he once had a conversation about Ripple with Buterin. The early Ethereum advisor said he cited Ripple as an example of how a firm should operate within the blockchain industry.

“I spoke to him about Ripple, but that was bc [because] I had met the Ripple folks and used them as an example of how a company should be operated in this space,” said Nerayoff.

No idea. He told me he wanted to implement smart contracts on Bitcoin but the devs didn’t want it. I spoke to him about Ripple but that was bc I had met the Ripple folks and used them as an example of how a company should be operated in this space. Ripple has been following me…

— Steven Nerayoff (@StevenNerayoff) September 23, 2023

Recounting the conversation, Nerayoff told Buterin how he encountered two Ripple execs, including Chris Larsen (the company’s co-founder), during a conference, and questions about XRP were raised.

Per Nerayoff, the incident showed that only one person in Ripple was allowed to talk about the cryptocurrency.

“[…] That was supposed to be the situation here,” Nerayoff added.

Nerayoff’s Popularity in XRP Community Surges

Meanwhile, Nerayoff has become a popular figure in the XRP community following his recent disclosure about Ethereum’s ICO. As reported earlier, some of Nerayoff’s allegations revolve around violations of Ethereum ICO’s Terms of Service (ToS) by its team.

Nerayoff claimed it is challenging to ascertain the number of investors participating in the ETH ICO, stirring speculations that certain whales might be concealing their positions.

Furthermore, Nerayoff also commented on his indictment, which he believes was fabricated due to his knowledge of Ethereum.

Following the disclosure, pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton said he is working on bringing Nerayoff to Crypto-Law to shed more light on the allegations.