Amid recent bipartisan legislation efforts toward legal clarity in the U.S., the XRP community has renewed discussions around XRP’s position as a commodity.

Specifically, SMQKE, a self-acclaimed researcher, recently called attention to an academic study that discussed XRP’s position in finance. The paper described XRP as a “radical form of commodity money,” adding to what the XRP community sees as evidence that the token is not a security.

XRP Has Two Major Roles in Finance

For context, the study, written by Ludovico Rella of Durham University, was published five years ago in the Journal of Cultural Economy. In his research, Rella discussed how money functions as a technological tool and a social system, using Ripple and XRP as the main examples. 

He discussed how technology, culture, and finance influence one another and argued that money’s design and use depend on the systems that support it.

Notably, Rella explained that XRP has two major roles. Specifically, it acts as a digital asset with commodity-like qualities and also as an essential part of Ripple’s payment network. 

He called attention to Ripple’s journey from its early days as a mutual credit system, which relied on trust between users, to its current form as a blockchain-based payment solution focused on speed, liquidity, and efficiency. During this change, XRP moved from a community-based credit token to a bridge asset for moving money across borders.

A Radical Form of Commodity Money

According to Rella, XRP is “a radical form of commodity money” designed to behave like digital gold, being a self-contained asset that holds value on its own. 

Importantly, it does not depend on intermediaries, company shares, or liabilities. Moreover, it exists independently, pre-mined, and transferable between any two addresses without restriction. Rella called this idea “digital metallism.”

Rella argued that XRP is more than a financial tool, as it reflects two opposing visions of money. Specifically, one focuses on community and trust, while the other values efficiency and liquidity. As a result of bridging these two ideas, XRP exists as both a technological innovation and a symbol of how money continues to develop in modern finance.

For context, SMQKE spotlighted the Durham University paper following a bipartisan draft bill from the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, which seeks to settle how digital assets fit into existing laws. 

Bipartisan Discussion Draft on Regulatory Clarity 

Called the Bipartisan Market Structure Draft, the proposal wants to create a clear framework that divides oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The bill would place digital commodities like XRP and Bitcoin under CFTC authority, while the SEC would continue regulating securities. Lawmakers believe the proposal could end years of confusion over how cryptocurrencies should be treated under federal law.

Within the XRP community, many see this as a major step forward. Commentator Arthur said the bill could confirm XRP’s place as a digital commodity, building on the 2023 court ruling that found XRP was not a security. 

He noted that XRP functions as a utility token, as it is used for payments, liquidity, and settlements, not as an investment in Ripple or any company. He added that the draft bill effectively puts that reality into law, recognizing XRP as part of the CFTC’s oversight rather than the SEC’s.

RippleX, the XRPL development arm of Ripple, has issued a new warning about a growing wave of scams targeting XRP holders.

In a recent X post, RippleX warned XRP community members to be cautious of scams impersonating Ripple executives through fake livestreams and deepfake videos. This malicious content has been circulating across multiple social media platforms, including X.

Growing Deepfake Scams

The message comes amid a surge in deepfake scams targeting unsuspecting XRP community members. Scammers often leverage artificial intelligence to create sophisticated videos impersonating Ripple executives, specifically CEO Brad Garlinghouse, in an effort to deceive investors.

These fraudulent videos often feature scammers pretending to offer XRP giveaways in exchange for small deposits of the token. In many cases, they urge viewers to send funds to a specific wallet address with the false promise of receiving double the amount sent.

Such AI-generated videos are often posted in the comment sections of posts from Ripple’s official accounts or those of its executives, giving them a misleading appearance of legitimacy.

RippleX’s Latest Warning

In its latest advisory, RippleX emphasized that no Ripple employee will ever ask users to send funds, participate in investment schemes, or share wallet information such as seed phrases.

Moreover, RippleX urged the community to verify all information through Ripple’s official accounts on X, specifically @RippleX and @RippleXDev, before taking any action relating to giveaways.

The message concluded with a stern reminder, telling users to “Keep your XRP yours,” urging holders to safeguard their tokens.

Efforts to Combat XRP Scams

Scammers have long targeted the XRP community with deceptive giveaway campaigns. However, the trend accelerated in mid-2023 following Ripple’s partial legal victory against the U.S. SEC.

Impersonating Garlinghouse and other Ripple executives, fraudsters claimed that the giveaways were part of celebrations marking Ripple’s court success.

However, the company, along with other prominent community figures, continues to dismiss these giveaways as malicious offers.

In 2020, Ripple filed a lawsuit against YouTube over the platform’s failure to protect XRP community members from scams, particularly deepfake videos impersonating CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

A year later, the company withdrew the case after reaching an agreement with YouTube to jointly remove these fraudulent promotions.

Despite these measures, scammers continue to target unsuspecting XRP investors, prompting Ripple to reiterate its call for users to remain vigilant.

XRP proponents believe the token has recently become the focus of a FUD campaign that has swept through the crypto community. 

As a result, XRP community commentator Mickle recently sought to tackle two of such persistent claims that, according to him, misrepresent Ripple’s business model and XRP’s long-term potential.

In a video commentary, Mickle addressed what he called “brand new FUD” about XRP’s potential. He pointed out that while some skeptics once dismissed XRP as having no value, they now acknowledge its utility amid institutional adoption but argue that its potential is smaller than Bitcoin’s.

“Ripple is Pivoting Away from XRP”

The first claim he challenged was the idea that Ripple’s institutional business does nothing for XRP. This claim has circulated across crypto circles over the past few weeks and recently resurfaced during a Crypto Town Hall discussion. 

Specifically, some have suggested that Ripple’s products do not directly impact XRP or have any benefit for XRP. Mickle pointed out that there was some irony in these claims, as these individuals have also admitted that some institutions might still leverage XRP or even use it as collateral.

Mickle explained that Ripple focuses on building an ecosystem around the XRP Ledger for traditional financial institutions. However, he noted that not every Ripple product has to use XRP because not every financial process requires decentralized, instant settlement. He said people misunderstand this and wrongly assume XRP is being ignored.

He used Ripple’s first product as an example. For context, this was a messaging platform similar to SWIFT that didn’t initially involve XRP. Mickle said Ripple wanted to meet clients where they were, reduce fears around blockchain, and build trust before introducing XRP-based settlement.

He called this approach “genius” because it strengthened client relationships while proving Ripple’s systems were safe and efficient. As confidence grew, clients became more willing to adopt XRP-based solutions. Mickle argued that this shows Ripple is setting the stage for broader XRP adoption, not neglecting it.

He dismissed the claim that Ripple ignores XRP, saying it is “patently false.” According to him, “XRP is the beating heartbeat, as Brad Garlinghouse says, of everything Ripple does.” He emphasized that Ripple’s ultimate goal is to drive a push toward crypto-native settlement systems, and XRP has a central role in this vision.

“XRP’s Upside is Limited as Compared to Bitcoin”

Moving to the second controversy, Mickle responded to Bitcoin proponent Dave Weisberger, who argued that XRP’s upside potential is limited, even though Ripple’s business has value. Mickle disagreed with this argument, saying it is “hard to understand.”

He pointed out XRP’s historical performance against Bitcoin, noting that it has outperformed Bitcoin for most of its history and in almost every year over the past five years. 

However, a look at the chart data shows that XRP has dropped 59% against Bitcoin since August 2013, its earliest trading days. Nonetheless, over the past year, XRP has gained by a massive 218% against Bitcoin. Meanwhile, overall, XRP is up 41,124% since launch, per CMC data.

Considering the recent uptick, Mickle asked what could justify claims that XRP’s growth is capped, especially with ongoing market trends such as institutional adoption, ETF rollouts, and a focus on U.S.-centric crypto solutions, all of which support XRP’s potential.

“If XRP throughout its entire history has been one of the best-performing crypto assets of all time, what makes you think that its price performance is capped?” Mickle asked.

He acknowledged that people can hold different opinions but said those opinions carry little weight without data or reasoning. He likened skepticism toward XRP to early disbelief in companies like Nvidia, Amazon, and even the internet, all of which eventually proved their value.

Ultimately, Mickle said the market will reveal the truth over time. “The market will prove with time which one ends up being true,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mickle also argued that XRP’s use case in decentralized settlement has a better value proposition than Bitcoin’s role as digital gold. He said he believes XRP can outperform Bitcoin. “That’s my thesis for why I think XRP can actually outperform and flip Bitcoin,” he noted.