Critics who mocked XRP 'embarrassed'...Flare co-founder declares a reversal for Ripple-based DeFi

▲ XRP/AI Generated Image

While a venture capital industry insider dismissed XRP as a "worthless asset," Flare (FLR) co-founder Hugo Philion stated that he has become more confident in building the XRP DeFi ecosystem. With the recent surge in XRP-based DeFi usage, centered around FXRP and Firelight, there is a growing sentiment that the initial criticism was completely off the mark.

According to TheCryptoBasic on May 25 (local time), Philion revealed that he had heard strong criticism of XRP and XRP DeFi from an advisor during a past call with a venture capital fund. Philion recounted that the advisor spoke for about 15-20 minutes, saying, "XRP has no value, building DeFi on XRP is meaningless, and Flare will never succeed."

However, Philion stated that this criticism only strengthened his resolve to develop XRP-centric DeFi. He assessed the market's lack of understanding of the XRP ecosystem as a bullish signal.

The controversy reignited when crypto influencer Ran Neuner and crypto trader Scott Melker made mocking remarks about XRP on X (formerly Twitter). Neuner sarcastically called XRP an "institutionalized coin," and Melker said, "I'd rather own Ripple stock than XRP."

In response, XRP community figure Mickle retorted that it felt "like watching your parents talk about AI," implying a lack of understanding of the XRP ecosystem. Philion also joined the conversation, and Mickle argued, "The very fact that people don't understand what we're building is bullish."

Flare is focusing on expanding the XRP-based financial ecosystem by launching FXRP, which connects XRP to the DeFi environment. FXRP is a non-custodial XRP asset issued with over-collateralization, supporting staking, lending, borrowing, and yield generation functions.

Firelight, co-developed by Flare and Sentora, provides stXRP-based liquid staking services. After FXRP was launched on the mainnet in September 2025, the initial issuance limit was exhausted within hours, and Firelight's initial staking volume also quickly filled up.

TheCryptoBasic reported that as of February 2026, approximately 100 million XRP had been converted to FXRP, with most of it deployed in Flare-based DeFi applications. Last April, Kristaps Grinbergs, Flare's Developer Relations Engineer, even stated, "Flare has built the foundation for XRP finance."

Furthermore, a single institution staked 8 million FXRP through Firelight, and Firelight's net inflow during that period exceeded 58 million FXRP. The total value locked (TVL) in the entire Flare ecosystem surpassed 156 million XRP, with over 32% of it concentrated in Firelight.

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