Solana’s Vibhu Norby challenged Ripple executives and the XRP community to a live debate

A high-profile leader in the Solana ecosystem, Vibhu Norby, popularly known as Vibhu, has challenged Ripple chefs and community members to participate in a live public debate centered on verifiable on-chain data.

Serving as the current head of Product Marketing at the Solana Foundation with a broad experience in web3 technology, Vibhu made this invitation via the X platform, motivating any individual from the XRP community to engage in a “facts-only” discussion.

Vibhu criticizes the community for ignoring existing data on the XRP network

Norby said his goal is to confront what he views as widespread misconceptions about the XRP network’s actual performance metrics. According to him, he is optimistic about Ripple and XRP succeeding in the ecosystem. However, Vibhu criticized the community for ignoring existing data that illustrates limited growth.

He acknowledged that although it is fine to believe in future adoption, the current on-chain information implies otherwise. The crypto leader’s remarks noted years of stagnation in XRP’s network activity, in contrast to fast-growing blockchains such as Solana.

Citing data from XRPScan, Vibhu highlighted that the total number of daily active accounts on the XRP Ledger over the last three years has remained around 25,000.

His statement followed a recent announcement that Evernorth, a new venture in the crypto industry backed by digital asset firm Ripple, has been listed on Nasdaq. Following this announcement, analysts believe the listing will expand XRP’s footprint among institutional investors.

Meanwhile, in contrast to XRP’s daily active accounts, Solana reportedly has over 2.5 million daily active accounts, illustrating a notable difference. Based on Vibhu’s argument, this situation has sparked heated debates, as XRP has been in the market for a long time and has a valuable ecosystem.

The CEO also shared statistics illustrating the XRP Ledger’s daily transactions, which showed that the blockchain processes approximately 1 million to 1.5 million transactions daily. Sources commented that this figure has only surged slightly over time.

When comparing the transaction figure with that of Solana, the sources that wished to remain anonymous mentioned that Solana’s daily transactions amount to about 100 million. 

Regarding the results, Vibhu argued that this comparison underscores how much more active Solana’s network has become in real-world applications.

Vibhu expresses optimism about Ripple and XRP succeeding in the ecosystem

In an X post dated November 1, Vibhu expressed that he wants Ripple and XRP to achieve a remarkable milestone, allowing the entire industry to progress.

Afterwards, he stated that the community usually ignores facts even when the data is easily accessible. He admitted finding this frustrating as someone who has served as an engineer for a long time and is seeking the truth.

In the meantime, after researching, analysts discovered that XRP transfers total approximately $50 billion to $60 billion monthly. In comparison, data from Blockworks, cited by Vibhu, showed that Solana’s stablecoin transfer volume nearly reached $2 trillion in October.

Despite these figures, XRP Ledger’s native token, XRP, ended the third quarter on a strong note as it closed at an all-time high of $2.85, up 27.2% quarter-over-quarter. Its circulating market capitalization rose 29% to $170.3 billion, outperforming the combined 13.3% gain in market cap posted by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana over the same period.

Nonetheless, the token’s momentum cooled in October as broader market sentiment turned negative following hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve. XRP has plunged by 12% over the past month, dropping to around $2.50 amid heavy selling pressure.

This event fueled discussions on the reasons underpinning XRP’s value and utility in the real world. Popular trader and analyst Scott Melker, also known as The Wolf of All Streets, questioned the purpose of the crypto. Then the analyst obtained information that SWIFT and Western Union do not employ this currency, which implies that it is not a crucial alternative.

However, XRP defenders appear to be unaffected by the bearish warning, describing the coin as a “neutral bridge” for use in audits. In brief, Melker recognized the currency as a temporary structure but did not believe in its long-term potential.

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