Ripple Co-Founder Jed McCaleb Addresses Criticism

Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple, recently addressed criticism regarding his departure from the company and the sale of his XRP holdings.

McCaleb responded to accusations from XRP holder Jim Knox, who claimed that McCaleb was intentionally harming Ripple investors due to personal disagreements. McCaleb clarified that he had informed the Ripple community of his decision to leave and his loss of belief in the project before selling his XRP.

He explained that his intention was to allow XRP holders to “front-run” him, giving them a chance to act on the information prior to his sale. McCaleb argued this was more transparent than selling without prior notice:

> “I told the Ripple community I was leaving. I did that before I sold my XRP. The alternative was to sell without telling people. Is that better?”

Furthermore, during his transition out of Ripple, McCaleb pointed out that XRP holders had the opportunity to swap their tokens for Stellar (XLM), aiming to alleviate their potential losses.

In defense against critics who viewed his departure as hostile, McCaleb reiterated that his actions were not meant to harm Ripple investors, countering Knox’s claims of personal grudges driving his decision.

McCaleb’s Space Station Ambitions

This discussion arose amid reports of McCaleb’s ambitious plans to construct a commercial space station through his startup, Vast Space. A Bloomberg article reported that McCaleb risks a significant portion of his crypto wealth to secure a NASA contract intended to replace the International Space Station (ISS).

Despite the criticisms, some members of the XRP Army have expressed interest in McCaleb’s space endeavors, although skepticism remains regarding his motivations:

> “That’s not the kind of person you can trust,” Knox said.

A Glimpse at McCaleb’s XRP Sales Saga

Notably, McCaleb originally owned 9 billion XRP from the XRP Ledger’s launch in 2012. In 2011, McCaleb, along with David Schwartz and Arthur Britto, developed the XRP Ledger to facilitate faster and scalable transactions, generating 100 billion XRP upon launch.

In September 2012, McCaleb and co-founders formed Ripple (initially NewCoin, Inc.) and received 80 billion XRP as a gift, while retaining the remaining 20 billion. After leaving Ripple in June 2013 due to differing visions, he began selling his holdings. Although there were claims of an aggressive sell-off, Ripple legally managed his sales, enforcing measured disposals, including charitable donations. By July 2022, McCaleb had completely divested from XRP.