Ripple Admired by Bitcoin Founder Satoshi, Recently-Released 2009 Emails Confirm

An email exchange dating back to 2009 with Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto has proved his commendation and praise for the Ripple project.

Satoshi Praising Ripple

Martti Malmi, a Bitcoin developer between 2009 and 2011, recently published personal communications with the Bitcoin founder back in 2009, containing words of commendation from Satoshi to Ripple.

My email correspondence with Satoshi in 2009-2011: https://t.co/jyoX8gXckp

— Martti Malmi (@marttimalmi) February 23, 2024

In the email correspondence, the Bitcoin developer discussed various aspects of Bitcoin with Satoshi Nakamoto. The developer inquired about the inflation schedule, the total number of coins, denominations, and the possibility of fractional bitcoins.

Satoshi Nakamoto responded by explaining the scalability of Bitcoin, its potential to handle a large number of transactions, and the absence of the necessity for fees in the near future.

While discussing these technical aspects, the Bitcoin developer brought Ripple into the conversation, having recognized the project as a similar revolutionary idea. Specifically, Malmi stated he would love to hear Satoshi’s thoughts on Ripple.

On this basis, Satoshi Nakamoto expressed admiration for Ripple, describing it as an “interesting” project. Moreover, he remarked that Ripple is “the only other system that does something with trust besides concentrating it on a central server.”

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Another individual, Martien van Steenbergen, inquired about Satoshi’s familiarity with the Ripple project. Satoshi responded by noting that, in terms of trust systems, Ripple stands out for its unique approach of dispersing trust rather than centralizing it. In his words:

“As trust systems go, Ripple is unique in spreading trust around rather than concentrating it.”

Satoshi Didn’t Praise XRP

Notably, some members of the XRP community have occasionally misconstrued Satoshi’s 2009 comment about Ripple, assuming it as praise for XRP. 

However, it is essential to note that Satoshi’s commentary predated the creation of XRP by three years.

Specifically, Satoshi’s 2009 comment pertained to the original Ripple protocol known as ‘RipplePay,’ which was initiated in 2004 by software engineer Ryan Fugger. This early project served as the foundation and inspiration for the creators of the XRP Ledger (XRP).