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Renowned international magazine Forbes recently published a critical report on XRP and Ripple Labs, describing both entities as good-for-nothing and zombie projects.
Notably, the analysis concerned crypto projects with billion-dollar valuations, especially as Bitcoin has ushered in a buoyant market once again. However, it placed XRP and Ripple at the forefront of its examination.
“Ripple Labs is Zombie”
Forbes went into Ripple’s history, highlighting its ambition to establish a revolutionary global financial benchmark that would facilitate swift and cost-effective money transfers for banks. This vision garnered interest from numerous financial entities keen on trialing Ripple’s innovative network.
Forbes claimed Ripple’s leadership engineered 100 billion XRP tokens and sold $1.4 billion worth to the public to finance their grand ambition.
In parallel, the report pointed out the popular expectation that Ripple will surpass SWIFT, which processes $5 trillion in interbank transfers daily.
Meanwhile, Forbes pundits asserted that more than a decade later, this expectation is far from reality. Moreover, they highlighted that after over a decade in existence, Ripple is still only running pilot crypto programs with central banks in places like Georgia and the Republic of Palau.
Accordingly, they denounced Ripple’s inability to fulfill its core objective, going so far as to brand Ripple Labs as a “crypto zombie.”
XRP is “Good-For-Nothing”
The report also highlighted that despite these supposed shortcomings, XRP still boasts a market cap exceeding $36 billion, ranking it the sixth most valuable crypto. Moreover, it noted that XRP remains heavily traded, with around $2 billion in daily transactions, though it suggests that such activity is driven by speculation rather than utility.
Furthermore, Forbes contended that SWIFT remains robust and unchallenged by Ripple. It pointed out that Ripple itself is now challenged by more efficient methods for international payments using blockchain technology, such as stablecoins like USDT.
Meanwhile, Ripple and XRP are not the only projects Forbes described as “zombies” and “good for nothing.” It extended this characterization to numerous blockchain projects.
Specifically, the publication identified at least 50 blockchain platforms that are currently valued at over $1 billion, among which at least 20 are deemed to be “functional zombies.” The list included Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and Stellar (XLM), among others.
Crypto Community Reacts with Bullishness
Despite Forbes’s critical view, the crypto community exhibited a degree of immunity to such scathing opinions, as this is not the first—and likely not the last—critique from traditional media. Interestingly, some see the harsh criticism in a positive light, interpreting it as a bullish signal.
Others pointed out inconsistencies in Forbes’ analysis, noting that just a few weeks ago, the magazine listed tokens like XRP, Cardano, and even the meme coin Shiba Inu as worthy and recommended financial instruments.