The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, has taken an unexpected swipe at Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest meme coin by market capitalization. Garlinghouse has criticized Dogecoin, claiming it lacks real utility due to its meme-based nature. 

“Dogecoin Has Not Been Good For The Industry”

At the Consensus 2024 Conference, one of the world’s largest and longest-running crypto-focused gatherings, Garlinghouse publicly criticized Dogecoin (DOGE), disparaging its intrinsic value and real-world use cases. 

The Ripple CEO shed light on the prevailing speculation narrative surrounding the cryptocurrency sector, implying that the crypto industry has not yet achieved widespread acceptance and regulatory clarity, given its status as a nascent and speculative global industry. 

Additionally, Garlinghouse disclosed that the crypto sector must transcend its speculative narrative, suggesting that meme-based cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, which thrives on speculation, presented a significant hurdle to the industry’s evolutionary progress. 

The Ripple CEO also stated during the conference that Dogecoin has not been a good development for the crypto industry. He acknowledged that he was not opposed to Dogecoin, but emphasized his uncertainty about the meme coin’s real-world applications. Moreover, he pointed out that Dogecoin lacked projects aimed at providing practical solutions to utility needs. 

As a meme coin, Dogecoin’s value is primarily influenced by its community, popularity and social media trends. Although the meme coin was created as a joke in late 2013 by Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, over the years, Dogecoin has grown astronomically. 

The cryptocurrency has consistently pushed beyond the bounds of the meme coin status, cultivating a community with millions of investors and supporters and rising to an all-time high of $0.73. Additionally, Dogecoin has gained recognition from prominent celebrities including SpaceX and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. 

While the doggy-themed meme coin may not have tangible use cases, Dogecoin remains a valuable investment in the crypto industry. Additionally, it acts as a cross-border payment solution for many crypto users, offering users reduced fees and faster transactions, in contrast to Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency. 

Problem Solving Takes Centre Stage In Crypto Industry

While speaking at the Consensus 2024 conference, Garlinghouse disclosed that the advancement of the crypto industry depends on solving real problems. He stressed that beyond Dogecoin, he had observed substantial utility emerging from various crypto projects across different chains, indicating that these practical solutions are what will ultimately improve the industry in the long run. 

An example of a crypto project focused on solving problems in the industry could be said to be Ripple. Operating as a cryptocurrency payments system, Ripple strives to become a payment settlement asset exchange and remittance system, offering a more efficient alternative to SWIFT, the vast messaging network utilized by banks and other financial institutions. 

Ripple’s use cases are extensive but primarily center on utilizing blockchain technology and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) native token, XRP to facilitate transactions between financial institutions, businesses and organizations.