In a space driven$ETH
by innovation and volatility, few comments stir the pot like the recent remarks made by financial veteran Gary Cardone. Referring to XRP as “the COVID-19 of crypto finance,” Cardone didn’t hold back, claiming the token could evolve into a tool for financial surveillance and authoritarian control.
Yes, you read that right.
According to Cardone, XRP’s survival strategy involves aligning itself with some of the “most oppressive people on Earth.” Specifically, he pointed the finger at European authorities, accusing them of driving the continent toward becoming a full-blown surveillance state—and suggesting XRP might play a role in that dystopian transformation.
> "XRP will take any path they need to survive," Cardone warned, referencing a viral claim about the so-called “European surveillance coin” $ETH potentially running on the XRP Ledger.
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Is This Fear or Foresight?
Comparing a crypto project to a global pandemic isn’t a light accusation. By likening XRP to COVID-19, Cardone signals a deep distrust—not just of the project itself, but of the ideologies he believes it may end up enabling.
The underlying fear here? That XRP, once hailed as a bridge between traditional finance and the decentralized world, might evolve into a Trojan horse for centralized surveillance under the banner of progress.
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Pushback from the XRP Community
Unsurprisingly, the XRP army didn’t stay silent. Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan responded quickly and sharply, asking:
> “Did it gain sentience?”
Morgan pointed out that XRP operates on a public, permissionless blockchain—hardly the ideal infrastructure for state-backed financial control. He accused Cardone of promoting paranoia over facts, reducing a nuanced conversation to clickbait-level fearmongering.
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Why Did Gary Cardone Bail on XRP?
This isn’t Cardone’s first time criticizing Ripple or XRP.
Back when XRP hit $2.71, he sold his entire bag—roughly $8,000 worth—and walked away. But it wasn’t just about profits. He outlined six core reasons behind the decision:
1. Lack of Supply Transparency – He found XRP’s tokenomics difficult to trust.
2. Overly Complex Mechanics – Cardone believed XRP was too hard to explain or understand clearly.
3. Market Hype – He warned against getting caught in emotionally charged, speculation-driven price action.
4. Focus on Long-Term Assets – He believes in investing only in what you deeply understand.
5. Avoiding the Crowd – Cardone is a contrarian, often moving away from hype cycles.
6. Self-Discipline – Selling XRP was part of a broader philosophy to stick with his core investing beliefs.
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XRP: Bridge to the Future or Threat to Financial Freedom?
Whether you agree with Cardone or not, his words bring up a key point often missed in crypto discourse: Not every project’s alignment with governments or institutions is a win for decentralization.
Could XRP’s push for regulatory adoption also open the door to centralized oversight?
Is it fair to label any project “oppressive” when it's built on an open, transparent ledger?
These are valid debates. And while Cardone’s language may feel extreme, the questions he’s raising are worth thinking about—especially as regulation ramps up in both the U.S. and Europe.
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Final Thoughts: Hype vs. Reality
XRP isn’t a villain, and Gary Cardone isn’t a lunatic.
He’s a seasoned investor raising alarm bells about a project that may, in his view, be veering off its original p
ath. Whether he's right or wrong isn’t the point. The real takeaway here is this: