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XRP’s Missing 32K Blocks Under Question as Donald Trump Adds Ripple to Crypto Reserve List

The controversy surrounding the XRP's missing 32K blocks began resurfacing with the news of Donald Trump's U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve.
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XRP’s Missing 32K Blocks Under Question as Donald Trump Adds Ripple to Crypto Reserve List

Highlights

  • Donald Trump's inclusion of XRP in the U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve has sparked optimism and controversy.
  • The long-standing mystery of Ripple token's missing 32,000 resurfaced as investors have concerns over transparency and legitimacy.
  • Despite Ripple CTO David Schwartz's explanation as a technical mihap, controversy continues.

The cryptocurrency world is optimistic after US President Donald Trump announced the crypto reserve news, including XRP. Though this has been among the most anticipated events, the question of Ripple token’s missing 32k blocks resurfaces concerns about its transparency and legitimacy. Controversy led to questions of involvement in the reserve.

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XRP News: The Missing 32,000 Blocks & Lingering Controversy

The Ripple token is among the top cryptos in the market and is in high demand among investors. However, the one specific XRP controversy of 32,000 missing blocks continues to linger for years, with no satisfactory update.

The story began in 2012 when David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto launched the Ledger (XRPL). Soon after, the ledgers’ first 32,570 blocks disappeared from public records.

This Ripple news fueled the skepticism around the co-founders getting involved in a foul play, as the critics believe in hidden token allocation or distributions. Crypto analyst Bitcoin Dad posted:

The first 32,000 ledger entries were ‘lost.’ WTF does that mean? Either it’s incompetence or nefarious. There’s no way to trust or verify the XRP ledger or what happened with the coin in its infancy.

Bitcoin Dad further criticized Ripple Labs’ control over tokens, emphasizing that the company still holds over 44% of the total supply. This raises concerns about centralization, which starkly contrasts Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos, initiating a Bitcoin vs XRP battle.

Although Ripple’s CTO, David Schwarts, claims this was a technical mishap, investors’ questions were never settled. They even grew with Donald Trump, adding this digital asset to the crypto reserve list.

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Donald Trump’s Crypto Reserve Fueling XRP Controversy

The Ripple’s controversial news resurfaced due to Donald Trump’s inclusion of this digital asset in the newly created U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve. In his statement on Truth Social, Trump revealed that the crypto reserve formation is a step toward solidifying the U.S. as the crypto capital of the world after years of regulatory hurdles under the Biden administration.

XRP price surged 33%, and SOL and ADA also experienced significant gains with this reserve news. The move was met with mixed reactions, with Bitcoin maximalists criticizing the inclusion of altcoins, especially the Ripple token.

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Dave Schwartz Claims Technical Loss

Schwartz has repeatedly defended the loss of this early transaction. In an earlier post, he stated that a bug in the Ripple server caused the ledger header to be lost in January 2013. He added that it is impossible to reconstruct and that the transactions are no longer verifiable.

Schwartz emphasized that the current state of accounts remains intact and accurately reflects the balances from that period. More importantly, he also clarified that they did not foresee the XRP ledger becoming a permanent financial system then and did not focus on an extensive historical record.

Amid these debates, he also pointed out that Ethereum has its own transparency issues, highlighting that these concerns aren’t conducive to Ripple token. Although this answer is to a post that asked, “Tell me… is there any other blockchain that lost its genesis block?”, it was an attempt to explain that these issues do not impact the network’s security or account balances.

However, these explanations fall short among critics. Recently, Peter Schiff questioned the involvement of Ripple in the crypto reserve, fueling the fire once again. In an X post, he added:

I get the rationale for a Bitcoin reserve… But what’s the rationale for an XRP reserve? Why the hell would we need that?

Many in the community echoed this statement: Ripple token’s failure to verify these early 32K blocks raises concerns over the integrity of its supply and distribution. The co-founders have not yet provided any new updates on the situation.

Final Thoughts & Ripple News Updates

The U.S. government’s view on digital assets is changing with Donald Trump’s presidency and the formation of the U.S. Crypto Reserve. For years, Bitcoin and Ethereum were at the forefront of the crypto industry, but the inclusion of altcoins in the reserve list indicates broader market recognition.

Analysts believe that if Donald Trump created an XRP reserve instead of Bitcoin, the Ripple token price would hit $1000.

These assets have gained significant attention, but the controversy surrounding 32k missing blocks is still in the market. This digital asset will likely gain more attention as it takes center stage in U.S. crypto policy.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the controversy surrounding XRP's missing 32k blocks?

The disappearance of the first 32,570 blocks from the XRP ledger (XRPL) led to this XRP controversy, which raised concerns about transparency.

Which digital asset is Donald Trump considering for the U.S Strategic Crypto Reserve?

Along with XRP, Trump revealed that Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano would be part of the crypto reserve.

How is XRP performing today?

After a 17% surge in the last 24 hours, XRP is trading at $2.67, with the 24-hour trading volume being $19.95B after a 510% surge.
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Pooja Khardia

Pooja Khardia is a seasoned crypto content writer with 6+ years of experience in writing, including in blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi, and digital finance reporting. In her adventure journey, she is currently working with CoinGape Media and leading their Trending Section. Here, she uses her expertise to deliver analytics, market insights, price predictions, and information on what’s trending in the crypto space, aiming to keep the crypto and web3 community updated with market trends and important insights. Known for a user-centric and straightforward writing style, Pooja is passionate about making crypto easy and accessible. Her writing blends market research with storytelling, helping readers stay ahead in a fast-paced industry. When not behind the keyboard, Pooja embraces her creative side through drawing and crafting. Connect with Pooja on LinkedIn or X.

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