Researcher claims XRP price is being deliberately suppressed

Jesse of Apex Crypto argues that XRP's decade-long flat performance against Bitcoin is not accidental, pointing to a 2021 Citibank document that originally used the phrase "Regulated Internet of Value" — language that maps directly onto Ripple's own thesis — before it was quietly rebranded as the "Regulated Liability Network," stripping the Ripple association in the process.

Why it matters

The argument's institutional logic runs as follows: if XRP or a derivative of Ripple's Interledger Protocol underpins the shared ledger architecture that the Bank for International Settlements has discussed as a potential SWIFT replacement, institutional architects would have a structural incentive to keep the asset price stable rather than volatile. Citibank's Tony McLaughlin has publicly described the Regulated Liability Network and the shared ledger concept as the same idea, lending the circumstantial chain at least surface coherence.

Critically, the case has real counterweights. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has stated that XRP's multi-billion-dollar daily volume makes it too liquid for any single entity to control. CTO David Schwartz notes that XRP's performance simply tracks other large-cap altcoins. The SEC's 18-month investigation before its 2020 enforcement action produced no findings of price manipulation by Ripple. Jesse himself acknowledges he presents no disclosed trading records or regulatory filings — only document interpretation and circumstantial institutional linkages.

Market impact

XRP reached $3.84 in the 2018 bull run and $3.60 in the current cycle, spending much of the intervening years moving sideways while Bitcoin compounded significantly higher.