Forbes Labels XRPL and 19 Other Blockchains as ‘Zombie Networks’

Forbes magazine has published an article criticizing 20 different blockchains for their perceived uselessness, including Ripple’s XRPL.

The Unnecessary XRPL

The article’s authors described Ripple’s network as inefficient and the XRP token as “purely speculative,” questioning its market capitalization.

“To fund their ambitious project, Ripple’s executives created 100 billion XRP and sold them for $1.4 billion. In early 2018, during the first wave of crypto euphoria, the token’s market capitalization reached $132 billion, giving co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen a net worth of $8 billion,” the article states.

Journalists argue that the blockchain has failed to achieve its goal of improving the global financial network. Furthermore, XRPL has not established itself as an alternative to the SWIFT cross-border payment platform.

As evidence of Ripple’s “uselessness,” Forbes pointed to the low transaction fees, which amounted to about $583,000 in 2023.

“Ripple Labs is a crypto zombie. XRP tokens continue to trade actively at around $2 billion a day, but with no purpose other than speculation. SWIFT only continues to gain momentum, and there are now more efficient ways to send cross-border payments through blockchains, especially with stablecoins like USDT,” the authors noted.

For some unclear reason, Forbes did not consider the low fees on XRPL. The network charges an average transaction fee of $0.0002, while SWIFT can demand from $10 to $100 for a cross-border interbank transfer.

The article also criticized Ripple’s recent initiatives, including the acquisition of Standard Custody & Trust and the curation of various countries’ CBDC pilot programs. The magazine’s arguments are based on the fact that these events occurred after more than a decade of the company’s existence, indicating stagnation.

Army of the Living Dead

Among other “zombie blockchains,” Forbes highlighted Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Internet Computer, Ethereum Classic, Stellar, Stocks, Kaspa, Theta Network, Fantom, Monero, Arweave, Algorand, Flow, MultiversX, BitcoinSV, Mina, Tezos, and EOS.

The article’s authors divided the “useless” networks into two categories: byproducts of early blockchains like Bitcoin hard forks and direct competitors of major protocols.

“When programmers can’t get along, part of the team splits off and creates a new network—a split known as a hard fork,” Forbes explained the principle behind the emergence of such blockchains.

Meanwhile, the leading protocols of the first cryptocurrency and Ethereum are acknowledged as “quite useful.” However, according to the authors, there are far more “zombie blockchains” than the 20 listed.

“More than 13,000 cryptocurrencies are listed on various exchanges, most of which have the characteristics of speculative penny stocks, not to mention that they do not represent ownership rights at all. […] Any token can potentially turn into a meme coin based on just a single tweet from Elon Musk,” Forbes opines.

Community Outrage

The article prompted a response from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who ironically acknowledged his and other blockchains as “crypto zombies.”

Hey guys @tezos @Algorand @bitcoincashorg @Ripple_XRP1 @StellarOrg @BobSummerwill we are all Crypto Zombies according to Forbes.

I guess it’s because we got all the ?! pic.twitter.com/nwKbf7R4Pb

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) March 27, 2024

“I guess it’s because we have all the brains,” he suggested.

Ripple’s lawyer Bill Morgan also took note of the article, criticizing Forbes’ conclusions.

‘Nailed it’ yep right. The so-called Zombie, says the article, where “not much is going on”.
Except, according to the SEC itself, not Ripple, more than 80 institutions since the lawsuit was filed in December 2020 have signed sales contracts to buy XRP to use in ODL. Institutions… https://t.co/LVOiMYCUgr pic.twitter.com/n5ij3kc6UW

— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) March 27, 2024

“According to the SEC, not Ripple, more than 80 institutions have signed contracts to purchase XRP for use in ODL since the lawsuit was filed by the regulator in December 2020. Institutions clearly believe the coin is useful for payments,” Morgan emphasized.

Anodos Finance co-founder Panos Mekras called the article “nonsense,” noting that its main author, Steven Ehrlich, conducted insufficient research.

Yeah… excellent piece of nonsense and misinformation by @Steven_Ehrlich who is clearly misinformed and didn’t bother to do the basic research for the piece he wrote. Unfortunately, these are the idiots who write on mainstream media and “lecture” the public and the masses.

— Panos ?{X} (@panosmek) March 27, 2024

“Yes, excellent nonsense and misinformation from Steven Ehrlich, who is clearly uninformed and didn’t bother to conduct fundamental research for the article he wrote. Unfortunately, these are the idiots who write in mainstream media and ‘lecture’ the public and the masses,” he wrote.

A user with the nickname TipsyTiger added that the cumulative XRPL fees from the past year are actually a positive feature for the network. The funds from transactions are not considered revenue but are burned.

They are transaction fees which are burnt.. Low transactions fees on the XRPL is an advantage. I know you’re still trying to understand this concept but reposting shit like this to readers that trust you whilst not explaining is a typical revert to type for you.

Time to grow up

— TipsyTiger (Still Tiger Mike) (@TigerMike15) March 27, 2024

In February, Forbes included Chainalysis, Fireblocks, and Gauntlet in its list of the top 50 fintech companies for 2024.

In June 2023, Ripple was ranked among the ten most innovative private firms by the publication, alongside Stripe, Blockchain.com, OpenSea, and Alchemy.