Bitcoiners vs $XRP Army: Top Crypto Communities Clash Over Strategic Digital Assets Reserve

A word war is ensuing between Bitcoiners and the XRP Army, fueled by a post from a prominent Bitcoin maximalist and cryptocurrency executive who said Ripple and the XRP token are the "biggest obstacle" in achieving a strategic BTC reserve (SBR).

The bitter war of words put Ripple on the top business and finance trends on X overnight, as the two communities clashed over Pierre Rochard's statements regarding the fintech firm.

Bitcoin Maxi Triggers Heated Discussion in Crypto Community

Rochard, the vice president of research at leading Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms, took to X Thursday to claim that Ripple and XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, are the top hurdles toward the establishment of a national Bitcoin reserve.

"They are aggressively lobbying against the SBR by throwing around $millions at politicians, desperately trying to derail it," Rochard claimed.

He further accused Ripple, which oversees the development of the XRP Ledger, of lobbying against BTC mining "under the Biden administration," suggesting that Ripple had connections with the previous government, which has been criticized by the broader crypto community for its enforcement-first approach toward digital assets.

"Obviously they want to protect their marketing narratives and push for CBDCs built on their platform," Rochard concluded.

What the Bitcoiners are Saying: $BTC Only

Bitcoiners rallied behind Rochard's statements, with some other prominent figures in the BTC community saying the Riot executive's comments bear legitimate weight.

Well-followed podcaster and BTC maximalist Efrat Fenigson said Rochard "makes sense." She also re-posted a thread she wrote in April last year wherein she criticized Ripple's CBDC platform. "How can you be pro-freedom and keep feeding the beast?" she wrote.

Bitcoiner Tuur Demeester called XRP a "total sh**coin," calling out the token for its alleged "accidental" loss of parts of the XRP Ledger.

Another BTC maximalist said Ripple and the XRP token are "evil," noting that while a strategic Bitcoin reserve will enrich all Americans, "a CBDC based off of Ripple affects all Americans, but enriches Ripple and the government."

What the $XRP Army is Saying: Equality for All Coins

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wasted no time to respond to Rochard's damning claims, saying it appears the Riot leader was ignoring the new U.S. president's campaign ideals around innovation.

"Our efforts are actually increasing the likelihood of a crypto strategic reserve (which includes Bitcoin) happening," Garlinghouse wrote.

XRP Café Co-founder Vet slammed Rochard's statements, saying it was people like Rochard "who see only Bitcoin and not an industry that can advance society."

Well-followed crypto user Bobby A called Rochard a "clown," saying he should show some respect to Ripple, being the company that "fought the good fight for the industry."

Bobby A may have been referring to Ripple's intense and years-long battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a case that resulted in a 2023 ruling stating XRP is not a security when offered on exchanges.

Another XRP user also called out Bitcoin for having "no smart contracts" and "no innovation," adding that it can't be called a decentralized network since 50% of BTC mining is supposedly condensed in a few regions.

Other Crypto Users Try to Break the Ice

As Bitcoiners and XRP users continued to engage in heated conversations on X about the matter, some crypto users attempted to ease the tension.

Sir Beef, a prominent figure in the XRP community, said that everything boils down to a single point: "The USA should not be picking winners and losers. A basket of assets always made more logical sense than a single asset reserve," he wrote.

Popular YouTuber Wendy O had a more neutral take on the matter, saying she believes all U.S.-based crypto firms may be considered for a crypto asset reserve. "XRP just happens to have one of the largest market caps and fan base," she said.

Bitcoin and XRP holder Mr. Market said he is definitely "big" on BTC but he understands that "the industry needs more than BTC alone" to achieve greater things.

Is $BTC Threatened by $XRP?

Somewhere along the back-and-forth word wars, some crypto users suggested that Bitcoiners may have felt "threatened" by XRP, which explains their reaction after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday for a crypto working group to assess the possibility of a digital asset reserve, meaning it won't just be Bitcoin.

For context, BTC is the world's first decentralized crypto asset and is also the largest, unchallenged crypto by market cap. XRP is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value after Ethereum (ETH).

While BTC has been called the "digital gold," XRP has often been dubbed a potential challenger to Bitcoin due to the XRP Ledger's much-faster transaction speeds compared to the Bitcoin network.

On the other hand, the BTC chain is said to offer more security due to its transaction mechanism of distributed miners as opposed to the XRP Ledger's trusted validators.

It remains to be seen whether Bitcoiners and XRP Army members will someday come together in unity to push blockchain innovation forward.