Ripple CTO Describes XRP Buyback Theory as an ‘Awful’ Lot of ‘Scam’

Should the United States consider making XRP the reserve currency of the world and buy its entire holding from the market? 

Well, this speculative idea floated by Jimmy Vallee, Managing Director of Valhill Capital, in 2021 is once again doing rounds after he talked about it in a recent interview. 

But Ripple Lab’s CTO David Schwartz says he has not even looked at it closely. 

Sounds Like a Scam

The latest to rubbish Vallee’s speculative buyback theory is Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, who called it a scam in a tweet on Monday. 

“I haven’t looked at it very closely. But what I have seen looks an awful lot like a scam to me. If we’ve learned anything from 2012 and 2022 it’s that anyone promising high returns with low risk is almost certainly going to rob you,” Schwartz said. 

The XRP buyback theory has been dismissed by many others in the crypto world, most importantly by Ripple’s former director of developer relations, Matt Hamilton, who, in a long Twitter thread on January 12, termed Vallee’s idea as a complete fantasy and accused him of indulging in bribery.  

What Is XRP Buyback Theory?

Known as Vallee’s Buyback Theory, it calls upon governments to buy back the entire XRP supply from retail. Vallee also gives a price for XRP’s buyback, an eye-popping $37,500 per token, calculated by dividing total global wealth by the asset’s total supply, media reports said. Over the past few weeks, XRP has been trading at the $0.40 level. 

While no one takes Vallee’s buyback idea seriously, the XRP community can’t stop speculating if it ever plays out in reality.

Schwartz shooting down the speculative hypothesis as a scam is apparently an attempt to ensure the community doesn’t get swayed away. 

Attorney Deaton’s Clarification

Vallee’s interview with the investor, analyst, and business coach Molly Elmore on December 28 added a new dimension to the ongoing saga of theory. He mentioned Attorney John E. Deaton, who has been helping the court in the Ripple vs. SEC case, where he has been “fighting SEC outreach.” 

In the third year now, the case is likely to be resolved in less than six months, Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse said recently.  

Vallee proposed that on behalf of XRP holders, Deaton should be paid, in the event of a buyback, for his efforts to help Ripple in the aforementioned case. 

On February 3, Deaton distanced himself from Vallee’s statements, saying he has zero expectation to be paid for “fighting SEC’s overreach.” 

“Unless I file an appearance as a defense counsel representing a Company that is being sued by the SEC, my efforts will continue to be pro bono. I will NOT accept any money from any token holders related to my efforts,” he said in one of his tweets.