XRP Community Tensions Boil Over as Ripple CEO Defends Token’s Role

Tensions within the vast XRP community have intensified following a highly emotional post directed at Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz, which was later reposted by several other accounts.

The criticism centers on a familiar concern among some holders: that Ripple’s rapid expansion into stablecoins, treasury products, and institutional finance has not translated into stronger demand or price performance for XRP.

XRP Community vs. Ripple Execs

The original post came from an XRP commentator known on X as Fiduciary Ledger 17, who accused Ripple’s leadership of benefiting from years of community support while allegedly diminishing XRP’s economic importance in favor of RLUSD and other enterprise products.

The X user argued that XRP holders stood behind Ripple through years of regulatory uncertainty and the lengthy SEC battle, only to see the company increasingly emphasize products that do not always require the token. The commentator went considerably further, claiming that the community deserves to see XRP reach a “fair value” of $15-$20 or more and calling on the company’s executives to take steps to support that outcome.

It’s worth noting that these claims represent the commentator’s own views, which were reposted by others, but do not carry any evidence that Ripple has deliberately suppressed XRP’s price.

Nevertheless, the frustration reflects a genuine disconnect visible throughout the entire year. Ripple has announced partnerships with giants like Coinbase, Robinhood, BNY, Standard Chartered, and other major institutions, while RLUSD has expanded rapidly across different markets. XRP, on the other hand, has struggled in the market despite that corporate momentum, currently trading 66% below its all-time high in July last year.

Garlinghouse Pushes Back

Garlinghouse continues to frequently reject the idea that Ripple has abandoned XRP. At Swell 2026, he doubled down on the idea that XRP is the company’s “North Star,” adding that Ripple wants to pursue only initiatives that benefit the asset. However, he also acknowledged that the cross-border token will not necessarily be the best tool for every transaction, with fiat or RLUSD sometimes making more sense depending on the use case.

His argument is essentially that Ripple would rather win a portion of a much larger financial market using XRP alongside stablecoins and traditional currencies that insist every product exclusively uses the token. That message is consistent with comments he made earlier this year, when he said that “all roads lead back” to XRP. In a separate tweet, Garlinghouse argued that RLUSD does not compete with XRP as it has a different purpose.

The company’s own latest business update continues to mention XRP directly. It recently said that its goal is to modernize financial infrastructure using digital assets such as XRP while connecting payments, custody, stablecoins, treasury, and capital markets.

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