Jed McCaleb, Co-Founder of Ripple, Accused of Attempting to Sabotage XRP Before Leaving to Establish Stellar

A fresh wave of controversy has erupted between Ripple and Stellar following a claim by Panos, co-founder of Anodos Finance, that Jed McCaleb, one of Ripple's original creators, attempted to sabotage XRP before leaving to establish Stellar.

A fresh wave of controversy has erupted between Ripple and Stellar following a claim that Jed McCaleb, one of Ripple’s original creators, attempted to sabotage XRP before leaving to establish Stellar.

His post on X seemed to echo Ripple CTO David Schwartz’s long-standing stance that McCaleb launched Stellar based on ideas Ripple had previously rejected. Schwartz’s comments, first made in 2018 and recently updated, alleged that McCaleb had pushed for a failed Facebook giveaway and other proposals Ripple’s board dismissed.

I guess most people here don't know this, but Stellar was created by Jed McCaleb who was also one of the creators of XRPL & co-founder of Ripple. Jed played dirty and tried to crash XRP. This is one of the many reasons I will never support Stellar or hold XLM, other than also… https://t.co/X58OXC29Go pic.twitter.com/KNk3DbtX0R

Schwartz’s comments, published on Medium, argued that when McCaleb’s ideas didn’t materialize at Ripple, he left and implemented them at Stellar. He also accused McCaleb of trying to dump his XRP holdings in a manner that could have harmed Ripple, ultimately forcing the company into legal action. Schwartz argued that despite McCaleb’s attempts, his XRP holdings, as of March 2023, would still likely net him over $1 billion, making him one of the wealthiest figures in crypto.

McCaleb’s XRP Exit And Response

McCaleb, however, refuted Schwartz’s claims, offering his own perspective on the events that led to his departure from Ripple and the founding of Stellar. He stated that when he left Ripple, the board consisted only of himself and CEO Chris Larsen. McCaleb asserted that his departure had nothing to do with rejected ideas but was due to conflicts with Larsen, making it impossible to continue working together.

Answering allegations that he had tried to harm Ripple, McCaleb said he had been “extremely restrained” in his criticism even after being sued and attacked personally. He went on to say that Stellar was not simply a copy of Ripple, as some had argued, adding that Stellar had always been aimed at financial inclusion and cross-border payments, which were not XRP’s goals.

He also addressed Stellar’s initial token distribution plan, such as the Facebook giveaway, by stating the software wasn’t prepared then, but another such endeavor would be tried again down the road. McCaleb explained that Ripple and Stellar had divergent goals, and he could not understand why animosity still existed between them. He pointed to the partnerships that Stellar had, particularly with IBM, as proof that it had its own path separate from Ripple.

The XRP Feud That Won’t End

Schwartz, nevertheless, was not convinced. He accused McCaleb of launching a rival company rather than resolving internal conflicts in a proper manner. In Schwartz’s view, McCaleb betrayed Ripple employees and investors by trying to sell his stakes while also attacking the company. He asserted that there was no plausible explanation for McCaleb’s actions.

The squabble among Ripple and Stellar’s founders has defined the narrative surrounding both networks for years. Though both have achieved a great deal of success, the personal and professional animosity between McCaleb and Ripple’s leadership is an indelible part of their histories. It’s unclear whether this disagreement will have lasting implications for XRP and XLM’s futures, but the acrimony between their creators is far from resolved.