“Ripple is Interesting”: The Controversial Remark

In the emails published by Malmi, Nakamoto reportedly states, “Ripple is interesting; it’s the only system that does something with trust other than concentrating it in a single central server.” This statement, when evaluated against Bitcoin ’s design philosophy of avoiding central authorities in value transactions, suggests that alternative models were considered at that time. A timeline confirms that Nakamoto’s 2009 reference points to RipplePay, as XRP Ledger and XRP coin were products of later years, making a direct connection to Ripple or XRP misleading.

The assertion circulated across news platforms and social media as the “first confession in favor of XRP.” However, reviews reveal that the cited sentence relies on Malmi’s archive, lacking independent, alternative cryptographic signatures or on-chain Blockchain evidence. The archive’s appearance in discussions amidst the COPA–Wright lawsuit raises doubts for those expecting institutional archival processing.

Ripple-XRP or RipplePay?

Proponents of XRP argue this sentence validates the historical role of the Ripple ecosystem, highlighting alternative trust models being considered during Bitcoin’s inception phase. Bitcoin advocates argue that the statement refers solely to RipplePay, and mention shifts over the years have led to misunderstandings. Additionally, some ornate comments on social media, lacking source links, are seen as misleading.

Neither Ripple nor Bitcoin Core developers have provided new or independent verification of the claim. Thus, the assertion currently hinges on a single quoted sentence shared by Malmi.