Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, recently criticized Ripple, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD during an appearance on the Gold Goats ’n Guns podcast. She raised several key concerns:
Claimed Ripple’s early token issuance resembled an ICO-type fundraising, which she believes has undermined institutional trust.
Questioned XRPL’s decentralization and suggested banks remain wary of the network.
Argued that Ripple’s launch of RLUSD through regulated entities shows a retreat from relying on XRPL as a global settlement layer, implying a shift in strategy.
Speculated that if the U.S. Treasury tokenized T-bills, they’d likely choose Ethereum over XRPL, citing Ethereum’s maturity.
𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗗.
David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, stepped in with a public reply—he didn’t directly confront or argue, but instead:
Pointed to responses from the XRP community (notably validator "Vet") that rebutted Long’s claims—emphasizing that XRP was never sold in an ICO, was initially valueless, and that the XRPL boasts over 1,000 nodes and 100+ independent validators.
Clarified that RLUSD is issued directly on the XRPL—not solely on Ethereum—countering the suggestion that Ripple is abandoning its native ledger.
Invited Caitlin Long to participate in a direct, open, fact-based discussion about Ripple, XRP, XRPL, and RLUSD: “I’m available whenever you want to chat about the facts…”
𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘
Claim by Caitlin Long Ripple/Community Rebuttal
ICO-style early funding undermines trust No ICO—100B XRP created at genesis with zero initial value; no sale occurred.
XRPL is centralized; banks don’t trust it XRPL has ~1,000 nodes + 100+ independent validators; open-source and accessible to anyone.
Ripple issuing RLUSD signals retreat from XRPL RLUSD is issued natively on XRPL (and also on Ethereum for broader access)—not an abandonment.
U.S. Treasury would choose Ethereum for tokenization No direct rebuttal yet, but Ripple’s openness to discussion may address this.
𝗕𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗢𝗠 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘: Yes, Ripple’s CTO didn’t exactly “confront” Caitlin Long in an aggressive way, but he did step into the debate—backing community responses to her claims and extending an invitation to engage in a more constructive, fact-based dialogue.
