Pundit Explains Real Reason Forbes Flipped Positive on XRP

An XRP community commentator has recently reacted to Forbes’ sudden change of stance around Ripple and XRP.

Notably, Forbes agitated the entire XRP community in June 2024 when it mentioned XRP among its 50 “zombie blockchains” and claimed the project lacked real activity and genuine utility.

Sixteen months later, the magazine completely flipped its stance and praised Ripple’s growth while calling the company’s progress a major reinvention. This turn has now caught the attention of well-known market pundit The Modern Investor, who sought to explain why this change occurred, citing reports from The Crypto Basic.

Changes Occurring Across the Crypto Space

In a video commentary, he called out the rapid changes taking place across the crypto market and the inconsistent way many major voices cover these shifts. “A lot of the news lately, if you’ve been paying attention, has kind of been all over the place,” The Modern Investor said.

He explained that anyone who followed Ripple closely already understood the company’s momentum long before Forbes acknowledged it. 

The pundit called attention to Ripple’s long list of bank partnerships, its expansion into regulated regions outside the United States, and the steady delivery of new products even during the lengthy SEC lawsuit. To him, Forbes’ old “zombie blockchain” tag never matched Ripple’s actual progress.

Why Forbes and Others Flipped Positive on XRP and Ripple

The Modern Investor then described a major turning point early in 2025, when Ripple gained sudden attention in Washington. He discussed Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s appearance inside the White House, and noted how important that moment became for the entire market. 

“It became abundantly clear if you missed it… with all these videos and photos of Brad Garlinghouse in the White House and then it being announced that the US, along with Bitcoin, was going to accumulate XRP for their reserve thing as well,” he said.

According to him, this improvement in visibility pushed institutions and commentators to reassess Ripple’s influence. As he explained, the same people who dismissed XRP for years suddenly began praising Ripple’s position in institutional finance. He said their tone changed because they finally understood how much progress Ripple had already made.

To underline this point, he spoke about Ripple’s ability to follow through on its promises. He explained how Ripple merged older services into a single ecosystem, expanded on-chain activity, and strengthened XRP’s role at the center of its products. 

Ripple’s Progress Went Unnoticed

He then highlighted Ripple’s aggressive expansion through acquisitions. He explained how the company now positions itself to compete directly with major custodians and asset managers by buying firms that handle treasury, custody, and institutional settlement. 

Throughout the video, he also expressed frustration over how financial media handled Ripple over the past several years. He questioned why a publication with global reach failed to recognize Ripple’s progress earlier and said their earlier coverage never matched the real developments occurring since 2020. 

“It makes me annoyed when publications… just kind of lie outright. If me and you were getting crazy good news about Ripple and XRP over the last five years, doesn’t it seem weird that Forbes didn’t have that news?” the pundit asked.

Notably, he said the new stance from Forbes simply confirms what long-term XRP proponents already knew. He believes Ripple will continue to grow through acquisitions, tokenization deals, and institutional custody services. He says the market will eventually recognize this progress fully and allow XRP’s price to reflect the scale of what the company continues to build.