The “silent” co-founder of Ripple speaks for the firs time in 14 years

Arthur Britto, the “silent” co-founder of Ripple Labs and architect behind the XRP Ledger, made his first public communication on social media after 14 years of silence. The reticent figure, known for his secrecy and absence from public life, posted a single emoji on X late Monday, prompting an 8% surge in the value of XRP within 24 hours.

Britto posted a single “face without mouth” emoji from his X account created in August 2011. Regardless of his intent, the XRP’s community reaction was immediate, largely due to his status as a founder who has avoided the spotlight since Ripple’s inception.

Asserting that “it was not a hack or compromise,” David Schwartz—currently chief technology officer at Ripple and co-creator of the XRP Ledger—verified that Britto was the one who sent the message.

‘Ghost’ XRPL co-creator speaks after years of silence

Not much is known about Arthur Britto, but according to Shwartz, he co-created the XRP Ledger in 2012 alongside Jed McCaleb, the latter also known for founding Mt. Gox and later the Stellar blockchain. Together, they launched what was initially known as NewCoin, later renamed OpenCoin, and finally Ripple Labs.

In 2015, he slapped Jed McCaleb with a lawsuit, accusing him of breaching a contract by launching Stellar and allegedly copying Ripple’s code. The case was reportedly settled out of court, and the full terms of the settlement were never publicly disclosed.

Though instrumental in building XRPL, Britto has stayed almost entirely invisible. He has never given a public interview, never appeared at a public event, and no verified photographs of him exist. 

His name is in public records and legal filings, but outside of official documentation, Britto’s persona has been more myth than man.

The XRP co-founder is also listed as the founder and president of PolySign, a blockchain infrastructure firm. He also briefly served as a director at Bitstamp in 2014 before his role was terminated in 2015. 

Real, but as private as Satoshi

Britto’s privacy has led to theories that he might be a pseudonym or not a real person. Others believe he is the person behind crypto’s most famous pseudonym, Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

“He is so private that he’s one of my dark horse candidates for being Satoshi,” one Reddit user remarked. 

David Schwartz addressed these rumors in a November 2023 post, proving Britto’s existence, adding that the developer is very insistent on privacy. 

“He is a separate and distinct human being in his own right. But he is intensely private,” Schwartz dispelled the chatter that Britto is a ghost in the Ripple machine.

Additional evidence of Britto’s identity was found in a Ripple community post circulating on X earlier this month. The post included a 2012 agreement signed by Chris Larsen, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto. 

Dated September 17, the document awarded Britto 2% of all XRP, then referred to as “Ripple Credits,” and granted him lifetime rights to build on the Ripple protocol without needing future permission. Schwartz confirmed the document’s authenticity and noted that he is in contact with Britto.

XRP price rally after community excitement

After dropping to an intraday low of $1.97 one hour after Britto posted the emoji, XRP has climbed up 8.1% in the last day. Many traders interpreted the post as a bullish signal, buoyed by its cryptic nature.

“Bullrun confirmed? Too early to say. But Arthur Britto doesn’t casually drop breadcrumbs. When someone this silent speaks … you listen. In crypto, silence can be louder than noise. And Britto just broke his. Stay alert. Something’s coming,” reckoned XRP enthusiast John Squire. 

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