At press time, XRP – the official cryptocurrency of Ripple – is trading for just shy of 37 cents. At one time, Ripple’s total market cap was higher than Ethereum’s, but it’s still only the “second best” cryptocurrency, according to the Weiss ratings.
Ripple Lands in Second Place
The program has studied over 120 different cryptocurrencies and considers EOS to be the top-ranking coin. Ripple’s XRP has fallen into second place, while bitcoin is only in third place despite spiking over $5,000 in recent days.
What’s the twist? All three cryptocurrencies share a “high ranking score” of B-. In school, a B- was considered less than stellar. It signified that one’s work was above average, but just barely. A B- was nothing to be ashamed of, but it wasn’t anything to be proud of either.
Interestingly, the system seems to be fond of cryptocurrencies and their backing technology. In a statement, Weiss exclaims:
Leading cryptocurrencies now enjoy three times more volume in user (on-chain) transactions than they did in early 2018. The industry’s network capacity and security have improved dramatically, and the underlying technology has evolved with new, more efficient ways to create digital assets.
Weiss seems to be implying that cryptocurrencies are enjoying more mainstream usage and are pushing their way to the top of the financial ladder. So, why not offer stronger ratings?
Perhaps Weiss believes that by giving cryptocurrencies lower grades, executives will feel compelled to improve stability, security and other aspects of their coins’ technologies, which is important if more people are using them.
If this is the case, the plan seems to be working. Bitcoin, which garnered a C+ rating during Weiss’ previous analysis of the currency, is suddenly faring better. Weiss comments that bitcoin has experienced improvements to its infrastructure, such as the inclusion of the Lightning Network.
But what’s the situation with Ripple? Could the currency potentially score higher granted the issues surrounding its decentralization (or alleged lack thereof) finally disappeared?
The argument surrounding Ripple’s XRP has been waging for some time. Many claim the currency is not a valid form of crypto, as most of the XRP stash out there is still controlled or held by the company’s executives. This goes against the decentralized nature of most other cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, causing many enthusiasts to call out Ripple as some sort of fraud.
No, Ripple Isn’t a Controlled System
In a recent Quora session, Ripple’s chief technology officer (CTO) David Schwartz commented that XRP is not controlled by those at the top. He states:
The XRP Ledger is open source technology with a robust community of developers, so if Ripple were to vanish, XRP and the XRP Ledger will remain.
In January of 2018, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse had a net worth of nearly $10 billion, and had a six percent stake in the company.