XRP Was Created As a New Bitcoin 15 Years Ago: Former Ripple Director

A new debate over Bitcoin scalability and decentralization has flared up on X, bringing the $XRP Ledger (XRPL) back into the spotlight.

It began after Marshall Hayner, CEO of Metallicus and an early Bitcoin developer, said that Bitcoin has yet to live up to its original technical vision.

Key Points

• Bitcoin’s scalability debate reignites, putting $XRP Ledger back in the spotlight.

• XRPL seeks to solve Bitcoin’s speed, fee, and transaction limits.

• Critics dispute XRPL’s decentralization despite independent validators.

• Institutional interest grows as $XRP gains credibility and high-profile investors.

Bitcoin Scaling Problem Returns to the Spotlight

In a tweet, Hayner remarked that Bitcoin still doesn’t have a fully decentralized and scalable version, and that the timing would be perfect if one emerged now.

His comments carried weight because he is an early Bitcoin developer who built one of the first Bitcoin wallets for Facebook in 2009. He framed Bitcoin’s scaling challenge as unfinished business, not a solved problem.

Former Ripple Director: Bitcoin Developers Already Built the Alternative

Former Ripple director Matt Hamilton joined the conversation, arguing that Bitcoin’s scaling issues were solved years ago with the creation of the $XRP Ledger.

He suggests early Bitcoin developers intentionally designed XRPL to address Bitcoin’s limits on speed, fees, and transaction capacity, making it a direct response to Bitcoin’s architecture rather than an accidental competitor.

Bitcoin developers literally created the $XRP Ledger 15 years ago for this exact reason.

— Matt Hamilton (@HammerToe) February 4, 2026

Notably, history supports that claim. Jed McCaleb, one of Bitcoin’s earliest developers and the founder of Mt. Gox, co-created the $XRP Ledger in 2011 alongside Arthur Britto and David Schwartz. McCaleb later co-founded Ripple, then known as OpenCoin, before eventually leaving to start Stellar.

Decentralization Debate Resurfaces

Meanwhile, critics challenged the narrative, claiming that $XRP is not decentralized. Hamilton pushed back, questioning why decentralization is still disputed when XRPL operates with independent validators and no central mining authority.

Why would you pretend that it isn't decentralized when you know that it is decentralized?

— Matt Hamilton (@HammerToe) February 4, 2026

Other critics say XRPL is just another base-layer blockchain with its own trade-offs and corporate influence, rather than a true solution to Bitcoin’s problems.

Some commentators accept that XRPL exists because Bitcoin couldn’t scale but wonder why Bitcoin has not adopted a similar model in 15 years.

$XRP and Bitcoin Rivalry

Regardless of whether XRPL exists to complement Bitcoin, a strong rivalry persists between the two communities. Bitcoin pundits often warn against investing in $XRP, claiming it is centralized and destined to fail. Similarly, $XRP proponents often argue that $XRP will replace Bitcoin and become the “global standard.”

But a growing number of commentators see $XRP and Bitcoin playing complementary roles in finance. For instance, in January, The Crypto Basic reported that Franklin Templeton said $XRP is steadily earning institutional credibility like Bitcoin and Ethereum due to ETF activity, real-world utility, and global adoption.

Bitcoin Trader James Wynn Calls $XRP a Banking Game-Changer

Back in October 2025, prominent Bitcoin trader James Wynn joined the $XRP community by investing $25 million into $XRP. Known for making and losing over $100 million in leveraged trades, Wynn called the move a gamble but said he believes $XRP could “revolutionize banking.”

His post underscores growing institutional and high-profile interest in $XRP, signaling renewed momentum beyond Bitcoin-focused investors.