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Ripple CTO David Schwartz has joined a heated debate after Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long criticized Ripple, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and its stablecoin RLUSD in a podcast clip shared on X. Long questioned XRP’s decentralization, likened Ripple’s early funding to an ICO, and argued the blockchain had fallen short of its adoption goals among banks and other institutions. Her remarks drew quick pushback from XRP community member Vet, who disputed her claims, prompting Schwartz to invite Long to a direct, fact-based discussion.

Caitlin Long Criticizes Ripple And XRP

Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, did not hold back in her view of Ripple and XRP in a recent episode of the Gold Goats ‘n Guns podcast. In her remarks in the podcast, Long noted that Ripple’s early funding model, which she described as the first of the ICOs, has permanently hindered institutional trust in XRP. She said Ripple had been active longer than most blockchain projects but had not made significant progress in replacing traditional banking systems like SWIFT. 

According to her, the company’s move to issue RLUSD through its own regulated financial entities is a notable pivot away from relying solely on the XRPL as a global settlement layer. Although she acknowledged that US regulatory pressure under the Biden administration had affected Ripple’s operations, she maintained that the base layer network was unlikely to become the backbone of international payments.

With this in mind, Long predicted that when the US Treasury eventually decides on a blockchain for tokenizing T-bills, it will most likely choose Ethereum over Ripple due to the former’s maturity and better adoption.

XRP Community And CTO Fire Back

Her comments prompted a detailed rebuttal from prominent XRP community member Vet, who dismissed Long’s claims as misinformed. As noted by Vet, Ripple never conducted an ICO, XRP was worthless when it was created, and all 100 billion tokens were created in a genesis account. Vet also defended the XRPL’s decentralization, pointing to over 1,000 nodes and more than 100 independent validators run by individuals and businesses worldwide. 

He noted that Ethereum, on the other hand, was launched via an ICO. In addition, Vet highlighted Ripple’s continued integration of the XRPL in its payment products and the fact that RLUSD is issued on the ledger. He cited growing business use cases, ongoing technical amendments, and the XRPL’s historic role as the first blockchain with a native decentralized exchange and tokenization capabilities.

Following Vet’s response, David Schwartz also took to X to directly address Caitlin Long’s claims. Although he noted that the community member had already provided “some basic ones” to start the factual discussion, the Ripple CTO invited Long to an open conversation about Ripple, RLUSD, the XRPL, and XRP. 

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President Donald Trump issued a debanking executive order this week aimed at stopping what his administration described as unfair banking discrimination toward the crypto sector.

Will the order be the definitive blow to the so-called Operation Choke Point 2.0? Will banks that debanked crypto companies unfairly be forced to reinstate them? Custodia Bank founder and CEO Caitlin Long dives into the finer points of the order:

Debanking executive order installs independent overseer

The first “hidden gem,” according to Long, is that Trump’s debanking executive order installs an independent overseer, highlighting the administration’s reservations with the existing three federal banking regulators, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve (Fed), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Instead, it places the Small Business Administration (SBA), a non-bank regulator, as an independent overseer above these agencies to monitor debanking issues. This looks an awful lot like a lack of faith in existing agencies’ willingness or ability to address political and unfair debanking practices.

The SBA’s leader is a long-time Bitcoiner, Kelly Loeffler

President Trump picked Kelly Loeffler, a former senator, business executive, and known supporter of Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry, to lead the SBA. This appointment speaks volumes in the crypto community, as Loeffler was the CEO of Bakkt, an institutional bitcoin futures platform, before her Senate career.

The decision to place her in charge of monitoring debanking is an indication that this administration is serious about reform and that its trust in the previous regulatory agencies is low.

Political leanings inside the banking agencies

Long highlights the political leanings of staff at agencies like the Fed and FDIC. According to contribution records, a large majority of donations from Fed and FDIC staff went to Democratic candidates in recent elections, with Long placing the figure as high as 92% for Democrats in 2024.

This raises concerns for some that regulatory actions may have been driven by partisan biases, especially given the history of crypto-related “debanking” during the Biden administration.

Definition and scope of ‘politicized or unlawful debanking’

Trump’s debanking executive order defines “politicized/unlawful debanking” broadly, focusing on “lawful business activities” rather than naming crypto or any specific sector. This language means banks can no longer refuse service simply because a business is a crypto firm if it is otherwise in compliance. The order targets not just crypto companies, but any lawful firms that may face political discrimination. As Long points out:

“Banks that refused to serve or debanked lawful crypto companies are on the hook.”

The litmus test: Custodia and other crypto banks

Custodia Bank previously faced debanking after regulators pressured multiple banks to cut ties due to their crypto business, even though the bank had a clean compliance record.

Long asserts that the true test of Trump’s debanking executive order will be whether banks that debanked Custodia (and similar crypto firms) are compelled to reinstate them. The order’s success, then, will be measured by real outcomes in banking access for crypto companies.

“If they reinstate us, then the EO succeeded”

Mentioned in this article

A top US regulator’s recent easing of its stance on crypto doesn’t mean that the US government’s crusade against the industry is over, according to Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long.

Late last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that banks in the US could now go ahead with a range of crypto services, including custody and certain stablecoin activities.

Said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney E. Hood,

“Today’s action will reduce the burden on banks to engage in crypto-related activities and ensure that these bank activities are treated consistently by the OCC, regardless of the underlying technology. I will continue to work diligently to ensure regulations are effective and not excessive, while maintaining a strong federal banking system.”

However, Long says that Operation Choke Point 2.0 – a term commonly used to describe the US government’s covert agenda to stifle the crypto industry – isn’t over unless two other US regulators abandon their unfriendly stance on digital assets.

Last December, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the crypto exchange Coinbase found dozens of instances where the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) asked banks to freeze crypto-related services.

Long also calls upon the Fed to allow Custodia – a prominent digital asset custody bank – to have a master account, or a bank account that financial institutions hold directly with the Federal Reserve.

Says Long,

“AMID ALL THE JUBILATION ABOUT the OCC news, Operation Choke Point 2.0 (OCP 2.0) isn’t over until:
1. Fed and FDIC also rescind their anti-crypto guidance, which is still in effect (Fed & FDIC were far more detrimental to crypto banking than OCC) and

2. Custodia Bank has its Fed master account.

Context: banks that wanted to serve crypto but got regulatory pressure not to (OCP 2.0) were mostly Fed and FDIC-regulated banks, not OCC-regulated. OCC’s move is a big positive an has implications on the other two agencies, but FDIC and Fed anti-crypto guidance is still in effect.“

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently requested access to unredacted documents from the FDIC to investigate allegations that banks were deliberately de-banking the crypto industry.

The FDIC has not formally answered the request.

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