Ripple Exec: Crypto Will Be as Big as the Internet

• The crypto market is in its early days and like other industries, is filled with speculations.
• Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty pointed out similarities in crypto and the internet in the 90s.
• With FTX collapse, Alderoty implied that the bad days for crypto space are over.

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, posted an interesting poll on X (formerly Twitter) to his 174.5K followers and the crypto community. The results offer insights into the growth of the digital asset space.

Alderoty asked in his post, “Which industry faced early speculation, corruption, and bankruptcy before eventually consolidating around a few good actors and achieving mass adoption of transformative innovation?” He provided four options for his followers.

The options were: “the internet of the 90s,” “railroads in the 1800s,” “cryptocurrency today,” and “all the above.” Over 62.6% of respondents chose the fourth option, while 19.3% selected the third. The first option received 13.8% of the votes, and the second got 4.3%.

Alderoty revealed that the correct answer was “all the above.” He explained that the internet was considered a sham in the 90s, and the railroads experienced the “Panic of 1873.” The Ripple executive compared the current state of the digital asset space to these industries in their early days, noting that it is also plagued by scams, speculation, and corruption.

Alderoty mentioned the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, implying that the biggest scam in the digital asset space is behind us. He suggested the industry can now reach new heights with good actors leading the way and transforming the industry by eliminating the bad actors.

The Collapse of FTX

The collapse of FTX, one of the largest digital asset trading platforms in 2021-22, under the leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), previously known as the ‘white knight’ of the crypto sector, wiped off a whopping $40 billion from the industry.

Bankman-Fried is currently being bars, facing a 25-year jail sentence. He maintains his innocence and has discussed plans of appealing the judge’s decision.