XRP Origins Debate Reignited as Ripple's CTO Emeritus Sets Record Straight

Ripple's CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has weighed in on a long-standing debate over the origins of XRP, confirming that a precursor payment network concept predated Bitcoin by five years.

The concept was designed by Ryan Fugger around 2004 and was later known as RipplePay. However, it did not include decentralized assets or a native token that could be traded independently.

Schwartz emphasized the distinction between the early concept and the XRP Ledger, which was launched in 2012, three years after Bitcoin's genesis block was mined in January 2009.

The debate reflects broader tensions between the two communities, with Ripple's CEO having previously criticized Bitcoin's corporate strategy. The conflation of an idea with its execution is a common pattern seen across the crypto industry.