In a post on X, John Deaton, an advocate for XRP, debunked new rumors suggesting that XRP is directly competing with Circle. The confusion arose after Dave Portnoy from Barstool sold his XRP following the notice that Circle would rival the token.
According to Portnoy, he admitted to regretting the decision and said in a video: "I want to cry." After selling his stock at $2.40, the token rebounded to $3.60.
The crypto asset has outperformed Bitcoin, with an increase of nearly 23% in the last seven days. Deaton explained that XRP and Circle are not competitors. Ripple, the company behind RLUSD, operates in the same market as Circle.
But Ripple is not using XRP to enter the stablecoin market. It is doing so with RLUSD, a new stablecoin launched to compete directly with USDC.
Deaton emphasized that XRP is a token. It powers the XRP Ledger. Ripple is a financial technology company. Circle is another financial technology company.
Both build financial infrastructure, but their tools are different. The token is not designed to be a stablecoin. It is not intended to replace USDC or enter that category.
This clarification is important because confusing Ripple with XRP has real consequences. Deaton stated that these mistakes are common and lead to poor trading decisions. Ripple's Director of Public Policy recently stated that the biggest mistake is assuming that XRP and Ripple are the same.
Additionally, the legal advocate explained that Ripple's launch of RLUSD seeks to compete with established stablecoins like USDC. The token does not participate in the function or design of this stablecoin. It continues to act as a liquidity asset and bridge currency within the XRP ecosystem.
Deaton added that it was rumored that Ripple and Circle were exploring a business deal. This points to a possible past alliance rather than an ongoing rivalry. Therefore, he urged the public to stop equating token performance with competition between companies.
