In the wake of a broader crypto market downturn following the approval of several spot bitcoin ETFs earlier last month, the XRP Army finds itself at a crossroads.
Notably, the atmosphere turned tense when Yassin Mobarak, a seasoned XRP investor, took to X to express his dissatisfaction with the current state of XRP, hinting at the possibility of dumping his holdings.
Mobarak’s tweet, resonating with many, highlighted a sense of frustration and hopelessness within the XRP community. Mobarak expressed deep disappointment, stating the current state is worse than during the lawsuit, reminiscing about the community’s united vision for a promised land with Ripple’s victory.
“The community back then had resolve and determination. We had a goal that united all of us. We circled the wagon around the vision that a Ripple victory meant we reached the promised land. That vision of a promised land is now getting crushed by the reality of XRP impotence,” wrote Mobarak.
He further portrayed XRP as lagging while other coins surged, concluding with a poignant quote: “There are defining moments in a life, when faced with the choice of giving up or carrying on”.
Mubarak’s sentiments resonated strongly with numerous disillusioned XRP enthusiasts, garnering significant support. One respondent even questioned the logic behind holding XRP in its current state, proposing the exploration of other tokens like $MYRO on the $SOL chain. Mubarak agreed.
However, Hugo Philon, founder of Ethereum-based blockchain data project Flare Network, took a different approach, pointing out the community’s overreliance on the yet-to-materialize use case of global payments. He urged the community to shift its focus towards building with XRP, citing sidechains as avenues for meaningful development.
Panos Mekras, co-founder and CFO of the XRPL project Anodos Finance, also cautioned the community against being solely fixated on price movements. He emphasized the need for a fundamental shift in mindset, urging XRP holders to actively participate in growing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem and supporting builders.
Meanwhile, despite urging the community to prioritize building with Ripple, the frustrations are understandable. Despite Ripple’s major legal victories, including a court declaration that XRP is not a security last July, Ripple’s global business expansion, and XRPL’s robust growth over the past year, XRP’s price performance remains a cause for concern.
Over the past year, XRP has only seen a modest 29% increase compared to the substantial gains of other top cryptocurrencies such as Solana (245%), Ethereum (43%), and Bitcoin (77%).
That said, as the year unfolds, it will be interesting to observe whether the XRP can overcome this setback and pave the way for a positive trajectory even as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse hints at a potentially ‘Big Year’ for Ripple in 2024.
XRP was trading at $0.50 at press time, reflecting a 0.13% drop over the past 24 hours.
