A mysterious Ripple co-founder and co-developer of XRP Ledger has resurfaced on X after 14 years of silence, sparking speculation that his reappearance means big things are ahead for XRP.
Arthur Britto, a mysterious co-creator of the XRP Ledger alongside David Schwartz and Jed McCaleb and also a co-founder of Ripple, posted on X today for the first time in 14 years.
Ripple CTO David Schwartz confirmed that the post, which contained a single emoji, was legitimate and not the result of any hack or unauthorized access.
The development sparked excitement in the XRP community, as Britto has kept an extremely low profile despite his key role in the project. He has never given interviews, appeared in photos, or taken part in public discussions.
The secrecy surrounding Britto has even fueled speculation about whether he’s a real person. However, this seems unlikely as Ripple CTO David Schwartz has publicly referenced Britto before.
In a 2021 thread on X, Schwartz confirmed Britto is a “separate and distinct human being” who is simply “intensely private.” In that thread, Schwartz also mentioned that Britto was entitled to 2% of assets created with the Stellar ledger, referencing an agreement that Jed McCaleb allegedly violated.
Britto has also been tied to the bold claim that “XRP was designed to reach $10,000,” a statement that gained traction from a 2019 YouTube video claiming he made the prediction in 2017. However, there’s no confirmed source linking the quote directly to him.
What is confirmed is Britto’s original focus on utility over hype. In a 2013 internal memo, Britto wrote:
“The value of XRP is probably less important than the spread. I expect most people and institutions using the ledger to ignore XRP altogether.”
Some users believe Britto’s sudden reappearance could signal major developments ahead for XRP.
“The network is waking up. And Britto doesn’t post for nothing,” wrote John Squire, highlighting the coincidence that Britto’s return came as XRP hit 1.5 million transactions in 24 hours, the highest volume in four months.
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