Charles Hoskinson: XRP and Tether are alike, benefiting Ripple at investors’ expense

April 21, 2026

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, expressed his views on XRP, comparing its structure to Tether and criticizing Ripple’s business model for not benefiting XRP holders. In a recent interview, Hoskinson highlighted how Ripple consistently sells XRP to finance its operations, excluding holders from any share of the company’s profits or assets.

Hoskinson categorized Ripple’s recent activities as part of a trend dubbed “Web2.5,” blending blockchain principles with traditional business approaches. He mentioned projects like Arc and Canton from Circle as examples of this trend, predicting significant market growth in this space. Ripple, he noted, is following a similar path by expanding its business footprint and targeting institutional clients.

The core of Hoskinson’s argument lies in the disconnect between Ripple’s business growth and the impact on XRP’s value. He referred to Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road for $1.2 billion, development of privacy tools for regulatory compliance, and the introduction of the RLUSD stablecoin as potential profit sources for Ripple. However, he emphasized that these gains do not necessarily translate to gains for XRP holders.

According to Hoskinson, the profits generated by Ripple’s ventures do not circulate back to XRP holders, akin to how profits from Tether do not directly benefit its holders. Despite claims that positive news about Ripple and a bullish market could elevate XRP’s price and benefit holders, Hoskinson highlighted Ripple’s influence over the market by strategically driving up prices before offloading XRP and controlling the resulting assets.

In Hoskinson’s view, XRP lacks utility features like staking rewards or profit-sharing mechanisms, aligning it structurally with Tether. He pointed out that while holders may gain access to the network, they do not partake in the actual value appreciation accrued by the token. This assertion elicited pushback from XRP supporters who pointed to significant price surges over recent years as evidence of value creation.

Drawing parallels with Block.one and its EOS project, Hoskinson underscored Ripple’s monetization strategy involving the sale of XRP holdings rather than backing the token. He also raised concerns about Ripple’s advocacy for classifying new cryptocurrency projects as securities by default, a move that could entrench existing assets like XRP, bitcoin, ether, and Cardano in the market while potentially stifling competition.

Hoskinson’s critique of Ripple’s business model reflects broader concerns about the distribution of value within the cryptocurrency space and the implications for token holders. By dissecting the mechanics of Ripple’s operations and their impact on XRP’s value, he calls into question the alignment of incentives between the company and its token holders. This analysis sheds light on the complex dynamics at play within the crypto ecosystem and the challenges of balancing profitability with token utility and investor protection.