$100 Billion Controversy: XRP's Surge Raises Hard Questions for Ripple
According to CoinDesk data, the price of XRP is up over 1,000 percent in just the last month alone, eclipsing $3.50 per coin Thursday after spending much of 2017 under $0.30. With a market capitalization above $120 billion, the token has usurped ethereum as the No. 2 cryptocurrency after bitcoin, and social media is rife with speculation about when it might take first place.
But where some might see the kind of meteoric growth that's often associated with a breakout product, industry insiders have been quick to tap the brakes.
Rather than herald the run-up as a success story, some are using the spotlight to revive long-standing controversies that have dogged the Ripple blockchain network, the startup that created it and its fair-weather approach to marketing the cryptocurrency.
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According to Founder, XRP's use case couldn't be realized until Ripple had built out the network.
"We've identified a use case, we've identified a pain point, we have real customers using our product," Birla said, concluding:
Ripple is riding the crypto craze wave. The huge number of coins in circulation is a big issue and I can't see it going over $7-8 this year. Even that would cause an insane market cap but people are pouring money too fast in crypto right now so anything is possible.
I joined the ride at 0.5 and plan to leave the boat at $5.