- Zach Rynes argued that projects selling tokens and equity may create investor misalignment.
- Bill Morgan pushed back, saying XRP holders and shareholders can benefit together.
- Morgan says Rynes’ thesis has some plausibility but relies on assumptions.
A public debate between two crypto voices has brought to attention one of the most divisive arguments in digital assets: Does Ripple’s structure fundamentally betray XRP holders?
It started when Zach Rynes, a community liaison at Chainlink, posted a pointed critique arguing that any project selling both tokens and equity to investors creates unavoidable economic misalignment between investor classes. He did not name XRP directly.
Attorney and XRP supporter Bill Morgan made the connection immediately, accusing Rynes of having “an unhealthy obsession with XRP” and criticising Ripple for holding and selling its token at the same time.
The Case Against XRP
Rynes’ argument is straightforward. When Ripple sells XRP to fund operations while issuing equity to private shareholders, it creates two competing groups with different goals. His conclusion was blunt: “By owning $XRP, you are funding a company that has openly stated it will prioritize its equity shareholders over you.”
Some in the community agreed. One user put it simply: “XRP is nothing more than a funding tool for Ripple Labs.”
Morgan Fights Back
Morgan’s rebuttal was detailed and direct. He argued Rynes’ thesis “suffers from the logical fallacy of excluding the middle ground,” pointing to the possibility that Ripple shareholders and XRP holders can both win simultaneously rather than at each other’s expense.
He cited rising XRP Ledger transaction volumes, growing real-world asset tokenisation, expanding XRP DeFi through third parties like Flare, and net daily inflows into XRP ETFs as evidence that sophisticated investors see genuine value. Most critically, he said that Ripple is XRP’s single biggest holder, giving it a direct financial incentive to increase the token’s value regardless of shareholder interests.
“Ripple has made public announcements that XRP is the north star and at the centre of everything it does. There are consequences if it makes such statements and they are untrue,” he explained.
Morgan also acknowledged the debate is not over, describing Rynes’ thesis as having “some plausibility, but full of assumptions that need to be exposed and fully debated.”
As Morgan said, the price of both XRP and Chainlink is still largely driven by Bitcoin anyway. Hence, theory is one thing, and markets are another.
Related: XRP Nears Key Bottoming Zone as Analysts Eye $50 Target
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