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David Schwartz, the Ripple CTO, recently highlighted that XRP is up 1,500% since 2017 in an attempt to counter claims that it has delivered losses within this timeframe.
The recent remarks came on the heels of a bitter complaint from an investor, known on X as Mr. Karipple, who lamented XRP’s perceived underperformance over the last seven years. Notably, the investor revealed that he has been holding XRP since 2017 but has failed to realize any substantial gains.
According to him, this turn of events is “unbelievable,” arguing that he could have been a millionaire if he had instead poured his investments into any “trash coin,” possibly referring to the slew of meme coins that have emerged since Dogecoin came to the limelight.
Interestingly, these meme coins, though devoid of utility, have presented massive gains for early investors. The Crypto Basic reported last December that a trader turned $242 to $250,000 trading Solana-based memecoin MELON. Another investor made $1.5 million with $42 on SILLY, another Solana memecoin.
These success stories have triggered reactions from individuals like Mr. Karipple, who have continued to bemoan the comparatively slower growth rate of their mainstream assets. “Now all of shit coins people laughing so hard at me,” the investor lamented.
Ripple CTO Responds
Responding to the complaint, Schwartz pointed out that XRP has in fact been on a positive trajectory over the last seven years. The Ripple CTO noted that exactly seven years ago, on April 19, 2017, XRP changed hands at $0.033. Chart data corroborates this claim, as XRP’s highest value on this day was $0.03319.
Seven years ago was 4/19/2017. XRP was $.033 on 4/19/2017. That is a 1500% increase equivalent to an APY of 47%.
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) April 20, 2024
At its current price of $0.5333, XRP has notably increased by 1,506% since April 19, 2017. David Schwartz stressed that this growth rate translates to an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 47%. This is way higher than the national average APY for savings accounts in the United States, which stands at 0.57%.
XRP Underperforms Other Crypto Assets
However, despite this growth, XRP’s uptrend pales when compared to most cryptocurrencies, especially meme coins. Nonetheless, the untold story behind meme coins features a crowd of failed investments, with higher risks of massive crashes and rug pulls.
Despite this reality, Mr. Karipple is one of multiple retail investors that have bemoaned XRP’s underperformance compared to other crypto assets, with some individuals ascribing the slow growth to price suppression from Ripple’s XRP sales. Schwartz has continually rebuffed these claims.
acting to the latest disclosure, Australian-based attorney Bill Morgan highlighted that, while investors who procured XRP seven years ago are seeing gains, those who bought it six years ago are down 32%. Interestingly, those who purchased XRP five years ago are up 57%.
If you bought it exactly 6 years ago you are down 32.47%
If you bought in 5 years ago you are up 57.81%.
That’s volatility for you. pic.twitter.com/FHN1e2Hhis— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) April 20, 2024
Morgan presented this data to emphasize the volatility associated with crypto assets such as XRP. Meanwhile, Mr. Karipple dismissed Schwartz’s claims that he is up on his XRP investment, noting that he leveraged dollar-cost averaging to procure XRP at multiple prices, including the ATH of $3.8.