• Matt Hamilton, a former director of developer relations at Ripple, has explained why it would be unfeasible for the government to seize and purchase Ripple’s XRP tokens.
• The value of virtual currencies is attributed to its users, so confiscating XRP would not be possible without first coercing those who have the key.
• If the US government were to set restrictions on the use of XRP, it would be replaced by a simple fork.
The Ripple v. SEC case has been a topic of debate in the crypto community. With the government’s involvement, there is a common conspiracy theory that the authorities might try and seize and purchase Ripple’s XRP tokens, preventing them from being used anywhere else. However, Matt Hamilton, who was once the director of developer relations at Ripple, has provided an explanation as to why such is not a viable plan.
Hamilton claimed that the value of virtual currencies is attributed to the users of such assets, so confiscating XRP would not be possible without first coercing those who have the key. Furthermore, if the government ever needs a digital token for its own purposes, it would be much easier to generate one on its own. Additionally, if the US government were to set restrictions on the use of XRP, it would be rendered useless and replaced by a simple fork.
Hamilton’s reasoning also implies that the XRP tokens are not centrally owned or controlled, which would make it difficult to seize them in the first place. This further emphasizes the decentralized nature of digital currencies and the importance of users‘ rights.
At the same time, Hamilton also noted that the government is well aware of the implications of seizing the XRP tokens, which is why the probability of such a plan being implemented is extremely low. In the end, his explanation has helped to provide some clarity regarding the situation, and it has helped to put some of the speculation to rest.