From Coinpedia · By Anjali Belgaumkar
XRP’s social media timelines have turned hostile again. Over the past week, long-time holders have announced they are selling, a builder on the XRP Ledger has publicly criticised the ecosystem’s direction, and an open letter to Ripple’s leadership has split the community. Ripple executives and community figures are pushing back.
Advertisement Here is what is behind the sudden wave of negativity, what each side is saying, and where XRP’s price stands.
Why The Negative Posts Are Surging Now
The main trigger is price. XRP is trading around $1.15 to $1.19, roughly 70% below its all-time high of $3.84, which it set in January 2018. The token came close to that record in July 2025, when it reached $3.65, but has fallen since then.
That weakness stands in contrast to Ripple’s run of good news. In recent weeks the company has won final approval for a national trust bank charter, announced new partnerships at its Swell conference and reported strong revenue growth. Many holders feel the company is thriving while the token gets left behind.
Several other events added to the anger:
An open letter asked Ripple’s leaders to take steps to lift XRP to $15 to $20, setting off a debate over what Ripple owes holders
Long-time holders said they were quitting. Community member Ryan Solomon wrote that he was likely selling everything after seven years, citing opportunity cost and what he called “narrative shifting”
Off-topic insults aimed at Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz led him to start blocking users who flood his replies
What The Critics Are Saying
The sharpest criticism came from a CEO, a long-time builder on the XRP Ledger. The expert said he remains bullish on XRP over the long term, but not on its current direction or the people making the key decisions.
He pointed to falling activity on the network:
Daily volume on the XRP Ledger’s built-in exchange is about $5 million
Total value locked in its DeFi apps is about $35 million
Liquidity, volume and TVL have all been declining steadily
“Announcements are not adoption. Partnerships are not liquidity,” he wrote.
Mekras argued that Ripple’s success as a company, the XRP Ledger’s growth as a network and XRP’s value as a token are three different things, and that one does not prove the others. Asking how network activity turns into value for holders is “not FUD,” he said. While Ripple does not control the network on its own, its money and relationships give it far more power than any small team to move the ecosystem forward.
Other critics compared XRP with Ethereum and Solana, saying both have done more to attract developers and give holders ways to put their tokens to work.