XRP Under Fire: VanEck Research Chief Questions Its Real Utility

A senior VanEck government has reignited a long-running debate over XRP’s real-world utility, questioning each the relevance of the XRP Ledger and the financial case for holding the token—simply as a brand new spot ETF has posted the strongest launch numbers of any fund this yr.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital property analysis at VanEck, took direct purpose at supporters on X, opening with a submit that mixed sarcasm and skepticism. “Dear XRP maxis,” he wrote, “I’ll by no means perceive what your ‘blockchain’ truly does, however I’ll at all times respect the fervour required to faux it does one thing. So hold hustling!”

XRP Utility Debate Reignites

The tone set the stage for a thread that pushed past memes into pointed questions on developer exercise and worth accrual. In a follow-up submit, Sigel requested: “Genuine query: has any developer ever woken up and stated, ‘Time to construct… on XRP’? Would love citations.”

Hours later, he underscored the dearth of detailed responses from the group with a terse replace: “Zero replies to this point”. The problem is obvious. In a market the place developer traction and on-chain exercise are sometimes handled as proxies for community worth, Sigel isn’t just criticizing the narrative, however demanding proof that ledger is definitely a goal platform for builders.

When an supporter pointed to Ondo Finance launching its OUSG tokenized Treasury fund on the XRP Ledger as proof the ecosystem is lively, Sigel shifted the dialogue to token economics.

“Cool initiative, however does any of this truly accrue worth to XRP token holders? I’m not conscious of any payment seize, income share, burn, or financial linkage. I feel perhaps I’m not good sufficient to grasp however I’ll hold attempting to study and replace my views!”

The alternate additionally touched on the fortunes created across the token and the controversies hooked up to them. After one person sarcastically wrote that XRP had “funded a complete firm [Ripple] on nothing and bought a number of billionaires out of it,” Sigel replied: “Like the one who funded Greenpeace’s ‘Change the Code’ campaign to strain Bitcoin into abandoning PoW? Quite a legacy.”

The comment alludes to the well-known funding of Greenpeace’s anti–proof-of-work marketing campaign by a Ripple co-founder, a transfer that has lengthy polarized Bitcoin and XRP communities.

When one other commenter accused him of attempting to “maintain ppl again” from investing within the token and dismissed Bitcoin as “fully speculative,” Sigel contrasted the 2 property when it comes to institutional adoption and state-level engagement.

He argued that “retail traders like University Endowments, Sovereign Wealth Funds, and at this time a Central Bank” at the moment are in bitcoin, and claimed that “12 international locations at the moment are mining Bitcoin with direct authorities assist, due to its synergies with {the electrical} grid,” earlier than including, “Anyway by all means, make investments away in XRP. I’m not stopping you.”

The thread drew in Solana Foundation’s Vibhu Norby, who has previously clashed with the XRP group however right here provided a extra reconciliatory, if nonetheless crucial, framing.

“XRP is a SoV coin just like Bitcoin with cheaper charges wrapped in 13 years of funds mythology. Instead of Satoshi, the collective unconscious of the XRP Army facilities round an organization (which btw occurs to be very effectively run). The XRPL has minimal utilization for transactions in comparison with good contract blockchains, however it isn’t necessary to its worth identical to Bitcoin has minimal transactions in comparison with good contract blockchains however it isn’t necessary to its worth,” Norby commented.

All of this unfolded in opposition to a putting market backdrop. Canary Capital’s spot ETF XRPC, began trading on November 13 and generated round $58 million in first-day quantity, together with $26 million in its first hour—sufficient to make it the largest ETF debut of 2025 to this point and narrowly surpass the launch-day quantity of Bitwise’s Solana ETF, BSOL. The two funds now outline the higher tier of single-asset ETF launches this yr, with the next-best newcomer greater than $20 million behind in day-one buying and selling.

At press time, XRP traded at $2.27.