Matthew Sigel, the director of research for digital assets at VanEck, recently riled up the XRP community by implying that the popular altcoin does not actually have any utility.
“Dear XRP maxis, I may never understand what your ‘blockchain’ actually does, but I’ll always respect the passion required to pretend it does something,” Sigel said in a caustic social media post.
In a follow-up post, he further questions whether there is real developer interest or meaningful applications being built on XRP, which is a common metric for a blockchain’s viability.
HOT Stories VanEck Exec Questions XRP's UtilityCrypto Market Prediction: Is Shiba Inu (SHIB) Bull Market Starting? XRP Downtrend Canceled on ETF Craze, Bitcoin (BTC) Loses $1.63 Billion, But Price BouncesXRP Prints Massive 3,254% Liquidation Imbalance Amid ETF BuzzRipple Issues Crucial Scam Warning, Crypto Exchange BitGo Runs out of XRP, Top Trader Makes Bullish Case for Bitcoin (BTC) — Crypto News Digest
Bitcoin comparison
He has also compared Bitcoin’s adoption by large, institutional actors and even governments to XRP’s relatively modest adoption.
VanEck’s crypto expert has noted that retail investors like university endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and even a central bank have invested in Bitcoin.
You Might Also Like
Sat, 10/04/2025 - 14:39 Crypto Exchanges Almost Out of Bitcoin: VanEck's Matthew SigelByGodfrey Benjamin
Moreover, a total of 12 countries are now mining Bitcoin with direct government support, which is due to the cryptocurrency’s synergies with the electrical grid.
Retail investors like University Endowments, Sovereign Wealth Funds, and today a Central Bank. 12 countries are now mining Bitcoin with direct government support, thanks to its synergies with the electrical grid.
Anyway by all means, invest away in XRP. I'm not stopping you.
Pouring cold water on BlackRock collaboration
After facing some pushback from the XRP Army, Sigel has also addressed Ripple’s collaborations (like with BlackRock and OntoFinance) and initiatives, questioning whether they actually benefit XRP holders financially.
You Might Also Like
Thu, 11/13/2025 - 22:42 XRP Prints Massive 3,254% Liquidation Imbalance Amid ETF BuzzByCaroline Amosun
He has listed economic mechanisms like transaction fees, revenue sharing, or token burns, arguing that XRP doesn’t have clear mechanisms linking its token price to the adoption of Ripple’s projects.
Ignoring ETF hype
VanEck has been actively involved in crypto‑ETF filings for other assets. For example, it filed to list a spot Solana (SOL) ETF in the U.S.
However, VanEck did not apply to launch an XRP ETF, which puts it in the same camp with icy financial giants as Fidelity and BlackRock.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
