A new debate has erupted in the cryptocurrency community after Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long made critical remarks about Ripple, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and its recently launched RLUSD stablecoin.
What began as a discussion on a podcast has quickly turned into a public dispute involving Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz and outspoken members of the XRP community.
📌 The Remarks That Sparked the Clash
During her appearance on the Gold Goats ‘n Guns podcast, Long suggested that XRP has fallen short of its original mission to serve as a bridge currency for the global banking system. She argued that Ripple’s early funding model and the XRPL’s structure created skepticism among major financial institutions.
Long further claimed that the decision to issue RLUSD through Ripple’s regulated entities signals a strategic shift — moving away from relying exclusively on the XRPL for international settlements.
She also speculated that if the U.S. Treasury were to choose a blockchain for tokenized Treasury bills, Ethereum would likely be favored over Ripple due to Ethereum’s broader adoption and technological maturity.
📌 XRP Community Fires Back
Long’s comments drew a swift rebuttal from prominent XRP supporter Vet, who shared a detailed response on social media. Vet clarified that XRP’s launch was not an ICO, noting that all 100 billion tokens were created in the genesis ledger with no initial market value.
He also rejected claims of centralization, pointing out that the XRPL is maintained by over 1,000 nodes and more than 100 independent validators worldwide. Vet contrasted XRP’s origins with Ethereum’s ICO-funded launch and emphasized XRPL’s built-in decentralized exchange, native tokenization tools, and its role in powering Ripple’s payment solutions — including RLUSD, which is issued directly on the ledger.
📌 Ripple CTO Calls for Open Dialogue
Joining the discussion, David Schwartz acknowledged Vet’s counterpoints but proposed taking the debate further. He invited Caitlin Long to a direct, fact-based conversation about Ripple’s technology, RLUSD’s purpose, and the XRPL’s position in the blockchain ecosystem.
While it’s unclear if Long will accept the invitation, the incident has already captured widespread attention — not only for the critique but also for Ripple’s willingness to engage openly with its critics.