Ripple Clash: Scott Melker Questions XRP’s True Purpose

A simple question from a well-known crypto commentator has sparked a heated debate online about the fundamental purpose of the XRP ￰0￱ Melker, who goes by “The Wolf Of All Streets” on X, took to the social platform to ask about the current use case for XRP, distinguishing it from its associated company, ￰1￱ question drew hundreds of responses, revealing a deep divide between the token’s technical promise and its real-world ￰2￱ Core of the Disagreement Melker’s initial post, which he made sure to point out was not an attempt at trolling, questioned XRP’s role in a world where major financial firms like Western Union and SWIFT are choosing other blockchains for payments.

“Stablecoins have clearly taken the reins for payments,” he noted, asking what specific utility XRP now ￰3￱ from parts of the XRP community was quick and, at times, ￰4￱ accused the podcast host of ignorance, while others suggested he was not conducting proper ￰5￱ prompted a pointed observation from Melker: “If you get legitimately triggered when someone asks a question about your favorite asset, then you might be too emotionally attached.” However, some offered more detailed explanations, describing XRP as the foundational asset for the XRP Ledger (XRPL). One of the cryptocurrency’s advocates, ‘Mickle,’ argued that its value is intrinsic to the network’s operation, calling it a “neutral bridge currency” for settling payments between different financial systems, like central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and ￰6￱ user added that while stablecoins represent value, “XRP represents mobility,” acting as an impartial intermediary that doesn’t rely on a specific issuer like a bank.

However, Melker repeatedly pressed for evidence of this technology being used widely today. “Is anyone using it right now? Or is it theoretical?” he ￰7￱ when challenged to do his own research, the author of “The Wolf Den Newsletter” responded, “Nobody can answer what is ￰8￱ all just tell me what will.” A Technical Explanation and an Honest Admission Amid the noise, an explanation from Onami Press co-founder Santiago Velez stood out for Melker, with the “Crypto Town Hall” convener calling it “far and away the best response” he had ￰9￱ pointed out that one of the core functions of XRP is to have value for spam prevention on the XRP ￰10￱ also detailed the “rippling” process, a method for exchanging currencies where XRP acts as a unique, independent ￰11￱ the token is not an IOU like a stablecoin, it carries market volatility risk but not the counterparty risk of an asset issued by a company like Circle or ￰12￱ neutrality, Velez argued, is crucial for moving value between systems that cannot trust each other ￰13￱ considering this, Melker acknowledged the XRP Ledger’s “elegant” design but expressed doubt about its connection to long-term token value.

“The bridge clearly works – I’m just not sure the toll booth ever collects,” he concluded, questioning if the technology translates into sustained demand for XRP ￰14￱ another revealing moment, Mickle conceded a common investment motive, stating, “I mean, this is ￰15￱ at the end of the day, I’m here to make money.” This community sentiment matches optimistic price predictions circulating in the ￰16￱ analysts believe XRP could still climb above $5 in the current market cycle, based on historical patterns, despite recent price drops and some warning ￰17￱ for many of its holders, the belief in this future price appreciation appears to be as powerful as any current utility.