Stellar Founder Jed McCaleb Breaks Silence on Controversial XRP Sales

Stellar Founder Jed McCaleb has come out to defend some of his early actions as XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) co-founder. Different reactions have trailed the initiative since his space station plan report came to the limelight. While some have hailed the ambitious plans, others have spotlighted his treatment of the XRP community as a red flag in his future endeavors.

Jed McCaleb and Controversial Crypto Leanings

The conversation started with an X user, Cryptoinsightuk, commenting on Bloomberg’s announcement of the McCaleb space station. Cryptoinsightuk flagged some questionable occurrences regarding McCaleb’s engagements in the industry.

He highlighted the frantic sales of XRP and how he managed to escape regulators when Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse were indicted in the Ripple versus SEC lawsuit. In addition, Cryptoinsightuk said Jed McCaleb sold Mt.Gox months before the infamous hack happened. 

As a keen observer, he said these two events are too questionable to ignore. Hopping on the conversation, another X user, Jim Knox, said McCaleb deliberately sold his XRP to harm community members. 

Responding to these claims, Jed McCaleb said he did not engage in XRP sales for the purpose Jim Knox indicated.

What Happened to XRP and Mt Gox Sales?

In his clarification, Jed McCaleb said he started selling his XRP long before the US SEC filed the lawsuit against Ripple Labs. He also clarified that he informed the community when he was leaving and that he no longer believed in the project.

The Stellar founder said his disclosures were designed to let people front-run him. He noted that the alternative was to sell without letting anyone know. When he started Stellar, McCaleb said there was an offer for XRP holders to swap into XLM.

On the Mt.Gox sales, Jed clarified that he sold the trading platform years before it suffered the infamous attack. Despite this fact-checking by the Stellar founder, many in the community still doubted his genuine intentions for the XRP ecosystem.

XRP Liberated by US SEC

A major challenge the Ripple community has faced over the past four years is the lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The market regulator alleged that the coin’s sales constituted an investment contract.

After years of legal battle, the Ripple lawsuit officially ended this week, pending approval by the commission. The end of this suit has set a major precedent for the broader digital currency ecosystem. It affirmed that securities laws do not bind programmatic sales of most cryptographic assets.

Under the new US SEC, led by Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, many assets have been liberated, including XRP. Analysts are forecasting a potential rally to $150 per an earlier XRP Price analysis.