Fresh controversy is surrounding XRP after a market commentator ignited debate by calling the Ripple-promoted token one of the biggest alleged “scams” in the crypto industry. The explosive criticism quickly sparked backlash from XRP supporters and renewed long-standing arguments over Ripple’s role in the market, the token’s utility, and its controversial history within the broader crypto ecosystem.
Market Expert Launches Explosive Attack on XRP
In a recent post on X, analyst Ryker renewed his criticism of XRP, calling it the “biggest scam” he has encountered in the crypto market.
He argued that the token carries an enormous market valuation of roughly $83 billion despite, in his view, offering “absolutely nothing” of substance. Ryker also raised concerns about inflationary pressure, seemingly referencing Ripple’s monthly escrow releases, though he did not provide a detailed explanation for the claim.
The pundit went on to accuse the XRP team of artificially driving the token’s valuation higher through industry influence and connections with major market players. According to his claims, individuals associated with the project allegedly leveraged years of crypto market experience and relationships with large holders to help fuel XRP’s rise from around $0.50 to $3 during previous market cycles.
He also alleged that celebrity endorsements and media promotion campaigns were heavily used at the time to amplify hype surrounding the cross-border payments token, though he did not provide evidence to support those assertions.
 
Ryker further alleged that much of the hype surrounding XRP was concentrated in the South Korean market, claiming that many investors there suffered heavy losses during previous cycles. As part of his argument, he pointed to the massive XRP trading activity on Upbit as evidence of the token’s strong traction within the region.
He also cautioned traders against blindly following celebrity endorsements or online hype, urging investors to carry out independent research before acquiring any cryptocurrency.
Ryker tied these criticisms to XRP’s recent market performance, noting that the token has fallen more than 27% year-to-date and has lagged behind several other altcoins, including Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Zcash (ZEC).
XRP Ledger Records Fourth-Largest Growth Surge of 2026
Meanwhile, XRP’s network activity experienced one of its biggest growths of the year after the XRP Ledger added roughly 4,300 new wallets within a 24-hour period. According to Santiment, the surge marked the fourth-largest growth spike recorded in 2026.
Data from the analytics platform shows newly created XRP wallets jumped from around 2,500 on May 19 to approximately 4,300 on May 20. Over the same timeframe, daily active addresses also climbed sharply, rising from roughly 32,000 to 43,520, signaling a considerable increase in on-chain engagement.
Despite the improvement in on-chain activity, XRP has still slipped 1.5% over the past 24 hours and remains under significant pressure overall. The token is currently trading at about 62.8% below its all-time high of $3.65, reached in July 2025.
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