Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson has taken issue with the XRP community, claiming they manipulated his previous statement on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple. He insists that he never said the whole SEC was bribed to initiate an attack against Ripple and their digital currency XRP. He referred to these allegations as “conspiracy theories” and reiterated his belief that they would not hold up in a court of law.
The debate surrounding the SEC receiving bribes from Ethereum insiders to act against Ripple and XRP has resurfaced recently after being reignited by a series of tweets from crypto influencer Stefan Huber. Huber emphasized that given the 2018 speech in which former SEC official William Hinman claimed Ethereum was not a security, it could not have been a simple coincidence for the SEC to turn against XRP. He went as far as suggesting there was collusion between Hinman, former SEC chairperson Jay Clayton, and Ethereum insiders.
In response to Huber, Hoskinson stressed that his initial statement on the matter was not about the entire SEC having received bribes, but rather members within its ranks. He pointed out that since the SEC has recently pursued legal action against other companies such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Bittrex, it signifies that they were not specifically targeting Ripple.
Hoskinson tweeted, “I said the concept that the entire SEC is united against Ripple by bribes from Ethereum insiders is a conspiracy. Given that now Coinbase, Kraken, Bittrex, Tron, and dozens of others have been hit, it seems more accurate than ever.”
To further defend his position, Hoskinson stated that his original views had been grossly misrepresented by the XRP community, expressing that they “have manipulated it to a lie that is beyond recognition.” He added that he has since been mocked and hated by the community, but he remains firm in his beliefs.
The clash with the XRP community began in October 2021 when Hoskinson appeared on the Thinking Crypto podcast and mentioned the conspiracy theories surrounding Ethereum insiders bribing the SEC to go against Ripple and XRP. At the time, he was adamant that these theories were baseless and would not hold up in legal proceedings.
Cardano’s founder has a history with Ethereum, having co-founded the project before leaving in 2014 after a fallout with Vitalik Buterin. This makes Hoskinson’s comments all the more interesting, as he has experienced firsthand the workings of the Ethereum team.
Overall, the debate surrounding the allegations of Ethereum insiders bribing the SEC to take down Ripple and its digital currency XRP is far from over. Backed by various parties with vested interests, it is unclear whether the truth of the matter will ever come to light. In the meantime, though, Hoskinson remains steadfast in his convictions, despite the backlash he has received from the XRP community.