I wouldn’t put a cent in XRP.Ripple crypto (XRP) has been on a tear lately:Source: CoinmarketcapSince November, XRP price surged 350%.The recent jump vaulted Ripple back into the third spot of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies, behind Ethereum and bitcoin.This has a lot of folks excited about investing in Ripple.I would caution you against it. It’s one of the shadiest big cryptos out there.Here are 3 reasons why…Ripple was supposed to be similar to the SWIFT system for international money and security transfers, letting you transfer money in any form — seamlessly.Sounds like the perfect use for crypto, right?Despite all this hype, Ripple has never announced a meaningful integration in 10 years.Ripple claims to work with big financial institutions like Bank of America (BAC), American Express (AXP) and Santander Bank.But how much business is it actually making from this partnerships? What are Ripple’s revenues. There are no public records at all.The point about crypto is transparency. I can immediately see how much money Ethereum or Solana are making, or say a public company like Nvidia.There’s no such data about Ripple.Why would I invest into a company that doesn’t share how much money it’s making. What’s it hiding?Don’t forget, FTX was hyped as a legitimate business too before it all fell apart.XRP has terrible tokenomics.Tokenomics is one of the most — if not the most — important drivers of crypto prices. Tokenomics set the rules for how a crypto token operates. Like, for example, how much tokens will enter circulation and at what time, aka its inflation.For example, some 94% of all bitcoin has already been mined. And the remaining 6% will come on the market at a snails pace between today and cca 2140. It’s inflation is basically zero.Likewise, most of Solana and Ethereum tokens are already in circulation.On the flip side, only 55% of XRP tokens have been released. The rest are held by Ripple Labs.Right now, inflation rate for XRP is about 6%. That’s already quite high. And you have zero guarantee Ripple Labs won’t unload the remaining 45% of coins at an even faster rate in the future.As you may know, President Trump has repeatedly said he plans to create a bitcoin strategic reserve.Lately, rumors have been circulating that Ripple will also join the list.The problem is that the source of those rumors is no other than Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse.In a January 1 LinkedIn interview with Devin Ryan, Garlinghouse said it would make sense for Trump to add XRP to the bitcoin strategic reserve.That day, XRP jumped 12%.No one from the government actually confirmed that XRP is being considered as a reserve asset. It’s fake news.Don’t forget that Garlinghouse has been involved in a pump-and-dump controversy in the past. From 2017 to 2020, he made around $160 million selling his XRP stake while at the same time talking about the huge potential of Ripple.Bottom line: With so many quality cryptos out there, why would you invest in a shady business like Ripple. Stay away from it.
