Onchain Sleuth ZachXBT Claims XRP Holders Are Exit Liquidity, and Provide No Value to the Industry

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has criticized XRP and its holders, claiming they provide nothing of value to the broader crypto industry. In a recent disclosure, the on-chain sleuth confirmed that he does not provide support to the XRP community and even revealed he will mock anyone from the community who reaches out to him for help. ZachXBT Says XRP Holders Bring No Value to the Industry When asked why he takes such a hard stance, Zach claimed that XRP investors, which he called "Ripple holders," bring nothing of value to the industry.  He argued that their only role is to provide insiders with exit liquidity and placed XRP in the same category as Cardano, Pulsechain, and Hedera. According to Zach, none of these chains create meaningful contributions worth backing.

Meanwhile, responding to questions earlier this month about why everyone in the broader crypto community seems to hate XRP, Zach presented some reasons that bordered on supply distribution and "bad mechanics."  https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1954448617718112596 He pointed to insiders holding large amounts of supply, marketing strategies that he said misrepresent paid partnerships as real adoption, the loss of early XRPL blocks, weak mechanics, and the lack of strong analytics tools for the network. Zach's Consistent XRP Criticisms Notably, this is not the first time Zach has gone after XRP. Over the years, he has repeatedly claimed that holders serve only as exit liquidity for Ripple's founders.  Back in March, he argued that one of the best ways to judge a chain's legitimacy was by checking how many native stablecoins major issuers like Circle, Tether, or Paxos had deployed on it. At the time, he pointed out that both Cardano and XRP had none. https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1896458959290335689 However, three months later, in June, Circle launched USDC on the XRP Ledger. Circle explained that businesses, exchanges, and developers could now use USDC across a wide range of financial services on XRPL.  Nonetheless, Zach has maintained his criticisms. Despite these developments, he remains one of the most visible voices around Ripple. In January 2024, he was the first to draw attention to the $112.5 million hack that drained XRP from Ripple co-founder and chairman Chris Larsen's wallet. Community Reactions Meanwhile, Zach's latest remarks have triggered mixed reactions from within the XRP community. Eri, a prominent voice among XRP supporters, called the situation a real shame.  https://twitter.com/sentosumosaba/status/1961034004699959734 She said Zach had built his reputation as a trusted on-chain investigator who helped track down bad actors. She added that he had worked closely with Ripple through TRM Labs, which had only recently praised him publicly. Eri urged him to reconsider his stance, stressing that many still respect his work. Meanwhile, Vet, an XRPL dUNL validator, pointed out that the XRP community continues to face criticism from all angles: first from Bitcoin maximalists, then from Chainlink supporters, and now from Zach. He suggested that the community should embrace the scrutiny. https://twitter.com/Vet_X0/status/1961053372636655777 However, Eminence CTO Daniel Keller argued that the uproar over Zach's decision not to help further was another case of unnecessary XRP drama. Keller said people who neither pay for nor contribute to a service should not complain when someone refuses to continue offering it. He called the situation peak audacity. Another community member disagreed with this stance, saying the backlash had little to do with Zach stepping away and more to do with him implying XRP itself was worthless.