Market analyst Ryker has called XRP the biggest scam in crypto, pointing to what he says is an inflated price and a lack of real-world utility. The accusation comes as XRP trades around $1.37, down more than 27% year-to-date and trailing altcoins like HYPE and ZEC.
What Ryker alleged
In a post that circulated widely this week, Ryker claimed XRP's price was deliberately pumped from $0.50 to $3 a few years ago using celebrity endorsements and media promotions, particularly in South Korea. He argued that the token's $83 billion market cap is not backed by actual demand or usage — just marketing hype.
XRP's rough 2026 so far
The numbers back up the bearish sentiment. XRP is deep in the red year-to-date, while rivals like HYPE and ZEC have held up better. The price slipped again in the last 24 hours, dropping below the $1.40 mark that had served as a shaky support level.
Network activity tells a different story
Still, the XRP Ledger isn't dead quiet. Santiment data shows 4,300 new wallets were created on the network in a single day — the fourth-largest one-day spike of 2026. And over the past 30 days, XRP Ledger led all blockchains in real-world asset (RWA) net flows with $1.3 billion, more than double Avalanche's $500 million. Those figures suggest some institutional interest, even if retail enthusiasm has cooled.
The question Ryker's takedown raises is simple: can a network that's adding wallets and moving real-world assets still be called a scam? Critics say the price action doesn't match the on-chain activity. For now, XRP holders are waiting for a catalyst that might break the downward drift — or for Ryker's prediction to play out further.
