Neil Hartner (@illneil), a software engineer working on Ripple payments, has publicly criticized CBS’s 60 Minutes for mischaracterizing Ripple and the cryptocurrency XRP during a recent interview with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
While the segment was initially seen as an opportunity to provide a balanced perspective on Ripple’s role in the cryptocurrency industry and its long-running push for regulation, Hartner and others in the crypto community felt the broadcast misrepresented key facts about XRP and dismissed its utility.
Inaccuracies From the 60 Minutes Interview
In a recent thread on X, Hartner pointed out factual inaccuracies in the 60 Minutes segment. For example, the program described XRP as “Ripple’s cryptocurrency.”
Hartner emphasized that XRP is not owned by Ripple but operates on a decentralized public blockchain called the XRP Ledger. He noted that Ripple is a prominent contributor to the XRP community but does not control the digital asset.
The segment also featured John Reed Stark, a former SEC official, who described cryptocurrencies as a “scourge” and dismissed their utility, claiming they are purely speculative. Despite Ripple’s growing adoption of XRP in the cross-border payment market, Stark’s comments were amplified without significant counterpoints.
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Hartner noted that Ripple’s customers actively use XRP to facilitate faster and more cost-effective international transactions, demonstrating the token’s practical use cases. During the interview, Garlinghouse also pointed to JP Morgan’s interest in and adoption of blockchain technology.
A significant omission in the segment was the July 2023 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres, which declared that XRP itself is not inherently a security.
The court determined that XRP itself is not a security, and distinguished between XRP sales to institutional investors and sales to retail buyers on exchanges, affirming that the latter does not meet the definition of a security.
This decision was a landmark moment for the cryptocurrency industry, but 60 Minutes failed to address it, leading to further frustration among XRP supporters.
Garlinghouse himself criticized 60 Minutes on X after the interview aired. He expressed disappointment in the program’s lack of nuance, omission of crucial information, and reliance on dismissive rhetoric from critics like Stark.
Hartner’s critiques reflect broader dissatisfaction within the cryptocurrency community. Mainstream outlets often prioritize sensationalist narratives over balanced reporting, overlooking real-world applications of blockchain technology, and the 60 Minutes interview is a clear example.
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