Recent findings by community figure SMOQE shed light on Ripple's origins, indicating that the project's history dates back to 2004, well before Bitcoin.
The Origins of Ripple
Initially, Ryan Fugger developed the concept for RipplePay in 2004. This project was intended as a means to transfer money without banks. According to journalist Reutzel Bailey, Fugger described and began working on RipplePay before Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008.
Development of the Platform
Chris Larsen later joined the team and built the company now known as Ripple. He paved the way for transforming Fugger's idea into a functional crypto platform. Bailey also points out that Ripple was not originally conceived as a cryptocurrency in the same sense as Bitcoin.
Comparison with Bitcoin
While Ripple as a project has origins in 2004, Bitcoin remains the first true cryptocurrency launched in 2008. Unlike XRP, which only began trading in 2012. This highlights that Ripple's story is more complex and nuanced than many might assume.
Thus, Ripple does indeed have deeper roots than many realize, even though Bitcoin remains the first decentralized digital currency.
