Arrington Revisits His 2017 XRP Call: What He Got Right and Why It Still Matters

Published by

Debashree Patra

April 22, 2026

Crypto Analyst Calls XRP a “Zombie Asset” Despite Ripple’s Growth

In a recent Onchain Economy episode, Michael Arrington doubled down on a long-standing belief that XRP has been misunderstood for years. He pointed out that critics labeling it a “banking coin” missed the bigger picture, arguing that XRP is actually a foundational part of the crypto ecosystem.

“Ripple and XRP have been completely misunderstood in the last decade. Skeptics of XRP would call it the corporate coin, the banking coin.”

Arrington also reflected on entering XRP early in 2017, during the ICO boom, when it traded between $0.03 and $0.05, well before most institutional narratives formed.

Ripple’s Execution Sets It Apart

A major theme in his analysis is Ripple’s consistency. He credited Chris Larson for the original vision and Brad Garlinghouse for executing it over time. Unlike most crypto projects that faded after the ICO era, Ripple continued building through acquisitions and product expansion.

He stresses that this mission-driven approach is what makes Ripple stand out in an industry where many projects have failed to deliver.

Stablecoin Push Could Fuel Growth

Arrington highlighted Ripple’s stablecoin strategy as a trigger catalyst. According to him, this move makes it “inevitable” that more startups will begin building within the XRP ecosystem, similar to how early internet infrastructure attracted developers.

This aligns closely with the earlier breakdown; both point to stablecoins as a growth driver rather than a threat to XRP’s relevance.

Fixing Crypto’s Infrastructure Gap

Another critical point is infrastructure. Arrington stressed that crypto still lacks the advanced tools available in traditional finance, especially for institutional players.

Ripple’s push into prime brokerage (Ripple Prime) was shown as a major step. He said that it was a missing backbone for crypto markets, something that exists in traditional finance but is still underdeveloped in crypto.

Validation: Same Narrative, Stronger Conviction

Overall, his views are focused on XRP’s misunderstood narrative, Ripple’s execution, and the importance of infrastructure and stablecoins.

Arrington concluded in a note that if Ripple continues executing, there may be no upper limit to how big the XRP ecosystem can become.

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