Flare CEO Hugo Philion stated that the value and narrative of XRP should never have been viewed as dependent on the actions of a single actor, pushing back against recent fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding the cryptocurrency. According to U.Today, Philion expressed frustration with the habit among XRP holders to evaluate the asset’s future solely through the actions of Ripple.
Three Questions for XRP Holders
Philion emphasized that XRP holders should concentrate their efforts on improving the usability of the cryptocurrency rather than focusing on Ripple’s activities. He outlined three main questions for the community to consider. The first question is what XRP holders are actually doing to utilize their holdings. The second is how they can convince potential investors to hold XRP. The third is how the community can transform XRP from a predominantly speculative asset into usable capital.
“And that’s part of the reason we created Flare because we feel like there’s always been more that can and should be done with XRP,” Philion said. He invited XRP holders to try Flare, describing it as a way to make the cryptocurrency less dependent on Ripple.
FLR Utility and Transaction Fees
Philion’s comments come amid increasing frustration over XRP’s performance. The price of XRP has declined by around 50% over the past year, standing at $1.16 at the time of the report. Ripple’s former chief technology officer, David Schwartz, also faced criticism regarding the asset’s poor performance, noting that his influence on the XRP price was very limited.
In response to a user on X who questioned whether FLR holders are doing enough to demonstrate the token’s value, Philion clarified the role of FLR in the Flare ecosystem. The user had noted that XRP holders can use Flare’s decentralized finance ecosystem without purchasing FLR. Philion dismissed this claim, stating, “It’s incorrect btw that you can use FXRP without needing FLR.”
FXRP is a tokenized version of XRP on Flare. Philion explained that Flare Smart Accounts abstract away the need to manage FLR to make the experience more convenient, but FLR is still used to pay transaction fees on the underlying networks. He added that in the long term, there should be more use cases for the token apart from transaction fees. “Usage is important. Need to get fee generation going in a broader way in the ecosystem,” he said.
