Tensions within the XRP community have intensified after a highly emotional post directed at Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz was reposted by several accounts. The criticism centers on a familiar concern among some holders: that Ripple's expansion into stablecoins, treasury products, and institutional finance has not translated into stronger demand or price performance for XRP.
Community Criticism
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 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 further claimed that the community deserves to see XRP reach a "fair value" of $15-$20 or more and called on executives to take steps to support that outcome.
These claims represent the commentator's own views and do not carry evidence that Ripple has deliberately suppressed XRP's price. Nevertheless, the frustration reflects a disconnect visible throughout the year: Ripple has announced partnerships with major institutions including Coinbase, Robinhood, BNY, and Standard Chartered, while RLUSD has expanded rapidly. XRP, however, has struggled in the market despite that corporate momentum and currently trades 66% below its all-time high from July last year.
Garlinghouse Pushes Back
Garlinghouse continues to 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. 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 than 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 latest business update continues to mention XRP directly, stating that its goal is to modernize financial infrastructure using digital assets such as XRP while connecting payments, custody, stablecoins, treasury, and capital markets.
