For years, Bitcoin has been considered the genesis of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is broadly credited with laying the muse for the fashionable digital asset business since its creation in 2009 by the nameless determine Satoshi Nakamoto.
Apparently, some traders have often challenged the origin story of cryptocurrencies. A resurfaced declare is catching consideration throughout the crypto group, significantly amongst XRP supporters, attributable to new proof that Ripple’s XRP may have been created earlier than Bitcoin.
XRP’s Origins In 2004
The discussion kicked off on the social media platform X after a consumer and crypto commentator often known as SMQKE on the platform posted an attention-grabbing remark: “2014 E-mails affirm: ‘Ripple is older than Bitcoin.’” The publish was accompanied by a screenshot from a 2014 electronic mail alternate that sheds some gentle on Ripple’s lesser-known historical past.
The electronic mail thread, dated February 2014, contains contributions from journalist Bailey Reutzel and developer Jeffrey Cliff. In it, Reutzel confirms that “The first iteration of Ripple was conceived by Ryan Fugger in 2004.” At the moment, Satoshi Nakamoto had not but launched the idea of blockchain-decentralized digital funds.
Fugger’s authentic imaginative and prescient of XRP was RipplePay, which is a peer-to-peer belief community designed to permit communities to problem and alternate credit lengthy earlier than any point out of a blockchain or mining.
Nonetheless, the platform struggled with points associated to uncommitted members. As Reutzel explains within the message, Fugger sought methods to handle these points and finally handed over the reins to Chris Larsen, who later co-founded Ripple Labs and XRP in 2012. Underneath Larsen’s management, Ripple started pivoting towards what we now perceive as a blockchain-based cryptocurrency platform. However based on Reutzel, the shift was extra about capitalizing on Bitcoin’s rising mainstream reputation on the time quite than copying its fundamentals.
Cliff, in the identical electronic mail alternate, pushed again on the concept that Ripple was a response to Bitcoin hype. He acknowledged: “Not true. Ripple predates Bitcoin, and the hype that adopted.”
XRP’s Early Construction: Not Actually A Crypto?
The emails make a transparent distinction between Ripple as a community and XRP as a forex. It’s well-known that Ripple wasn’t initially designed to be a crypto in the best way Bitcoin was. In truth, Reutzel’s remarks make clear that Larsen positioned XRP as a cryptocurrency primarily to attract consideration, not as a result of the Ripple platform itself was about cryptocurrencies on the time.
XRP didn’t depend on proof-of-work or blockchain in its earliest kind, however its function aligned with decentralizing monetary alternate and cross-border funds. This idea would later be popularized by Bitcoin’s structure. That alone makes the argument that the altcoin is technically older than Bitcoin troublesome to dismiss outright, even when it wasn’t totally crypto in construction throughout its creation.
Nonetheless, many crypto traders would argue that Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency. It continues to keep up that title until now as the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, with a present 64.8% share of the full business.
Featured picture from Adobe Inventory, chart from Tradingview.com
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