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Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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Why Trust Cryptonews
The crypto space is buzzing with controversy following blockchain investigator ZachXBT’s critical remarks about Cardano’s (ADA) and XRP’s legitimacy, especially in light of former President Donald Trump’s new crypto reserve announcement.
Trump’s recent policy shift, which suggests incorporating crypto assets into a national strategic reserve, has drawn both praise and criticism.
However, ZachXBT’s argument that ADA and XRP lack major stablecoin issuers—such as Circle, Tether, or Paxos—has sparked debates about their role in the market.
In response to various Twitter users, his comments add to the ongoing battle for legitimacy among blockchain networks, raising questions about whether Trump’s policy will favor certain assets over others.
ZachXBT’s Critique: A Lack of Stablecoin Adoption?
ZachXBT, known for his investigative work exposing scams in the crypto industry, took to Twitter to voice his skepticism about ADA and XRP’s legitimacy.
He argued that one of the best indicators of a blockchain’s success is the presence of major stablecoins issued by Circle, Tether, or Paxos.
He pointed out that both Cardano and XRP have failed to attract any such issuers, making their standing as competitors to Ethereum or Solana questionable.
When challenged by users who suggested that stablecoin issuers can act as gatekeepers or favor chains they have invested in, ZachXBT doubled down.
He maintained that if these blockchains had demonstrated enough value, stablecoin issuers would have already integrated with them.
His critiques sparked sharp responses, particularly from Cardano supporters. One user accused him of being an “entitled elitist” who underestimated Circle’s barriers on Cardano.
Others pointed out that Bitcoin itself does not have stablecoins from these issuers, to which ZachXBT countered that Bitcoin had omnilayer stablecoins and a fundamentally different value proposition compared to ADA and XRP.
Ripple supporters also pushed back, citing Ripple’s recent launch of RLUSD, a stablecoin.
However, ZachXBT dismissed this as increasing centralization on a supposedly decentralized chain.
Particularly regarding this centralization concern, a user asked under the tweet.
“Being dependant on circle doesn’t that make it even more centralized?”
However, Zach clarified again, saying:
“I am not arguing whether the presence of major stablecoin issuers is good or bad for decentralization. They are simply an indicator of which chains are valuable…”
Trump’s Crypto Policy and Its Market Impact
The debate over ADA and XRP comes momentarily as Donald Trump’s policy toward cryptocurrency gains clarity.
His campaign’s recent push for integrating crypto into a national strategic reserve has generated optimism within the industry.
Eric Trump has praised the initiative as empowering retail investors while reducing their reliance on traditional financial institutions.
However, others, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, have cautioned against spreading the reserve across multiple cryptocurrencies, arguing that focusing on Bitcoin would be more effective.
Bitwise’s Jeff Park also shared similar concerns, warning that Trump’s approach could be a significant political miscalculation.
He believes that attempting to include multiple cryptocurrencies in the reserve—rather than concentrating on Bitcoin—risks introducing volatility and diluting its effectiveness.
This perspective aligns with the broader market sentiment, where Bitcoin remains the dominant store of value which is the crypto world. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin still maintains over 60% dominance of the market’s value.
Despite these concerns, the market has reacted positively to Trump’s crypto-friendly stance, with prices surging.
Bitcoin jumped 8% to $93,007, while Ether surged 9.7% to $2,438. XRP also jumped 24.5% to $2.80. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Solana (+18.7%), Cardano (+58.8%), and Dogecoin (+10.7%), also saw substantial gains.
For now, the market sees this as a positive development in the short term, but the ongoing discussion worries about the decision’s long-term impact.
