Former Ethereum advisor Steven Nerayoff has shed light on Vitalik Buterin’s alleged interest in Ripple and XRP, ending years of speculation. The crypto community has long pondered on whether Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, was genuinely interested in XRP.
This discussion of Buterin’s interest in XRP stems from previous revelations made by Matt Hamilton, former Director of Developer Relations at Ripple, who disclosed that Buterin had once tried to get an internship at Ripple. Hamilton claimed that Buterin stayed overnight on the couch of Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz.
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This prompted a question from Digital Asset Investor.XRP (@digitalassetbuy). He asked, “Did @VitalikButerin really want to work for @Ripple @StevenNerayoff? Or was he sent?”
Did Buterin Have a Genuine Interest in XRP
Nerayoff replied, saying he had no idea whether he was interested in Ripple or was sent. He explained that Buterin had once floated the idea of implementing smart contracts on the Bitcoin network, but the developers rejected Buterin’s proposal. This rejection prompted him to explore other blockchain projects.
No idea. He told me he wanted to implement smart contracts on Bitcoin but the devs didn’t want it. I spoke to him about Ripple but that was bc I had met the Ripple folks and used them as an example of how a company should be operated in this space. Ripple has been following me…
— Steven Nerayoff (@StevenNerayoff) September 23, 2023
Nerayoff went further, explaining that his discussions with Buterin about Ripple were informed by his interactions with Ripple representatives. He told Buterin that Ripple was an example of how companies should be run in the cryptocurrency industry.
Nerayoff then wrote about an incident from 2015. He was at a conference where he met with Ripple co-founder Chris Larson and another member of Ripple’s team. According to Nerayoff, all questions from the conference were answered by one of the representatives.
Read Also: John Deaton and Ripple CTO Blast Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Over His Latest XRP Criticism
He stated that the memories were fuzzy, and he couldn’t remember which of them was answering the questions. However, he emphasized that one person answered, and the other kept redirecting their questions to the one providing the answers.
One user stated that the unknown person could have been Jed McCaleb, Ripple’s co-founder. However, Nerayoff refuted that, saying he knows Jed, implying that he would have remembered if he was the one. Another user commended Nerayoff, calling him a hero. He said Nerayoff had the support of the entire space and he hoped the truth would come out quickly.
Nerayoff’s answers have reignited the debate surrounding Buterin’s interest in XRP. However, it hasn’t provided definitive answers on whether Buterin’s intentions in his interactions with Ripple come from genuine interest.
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