Ben Armstrong, formerly part of the BitBoy Crypto brand, recently rekindled baseless claims about JPMorgan making a big move into XRP, stirring reactions from an ex Ripple director.
Ben Armstrong, who commands some renown as a crypto community influencer, made this disclosure in a series of posts on X. According to him, JPMorgan had made a substantial move into XRP, accumulating over 7.5 million tokens.
Prevailing Inaccuracies
Armstrong claims this move by JPMorgan constitutes about 7.5% of the bank’s total wealth. However, this calculation is incredibly flawed. Notably, 7.5 million XRP currently costs $4.46 million.
Stating that $4.46 million is 7.5% of JPMorgan’s wealth would put the bank’s total wealth at $59.46 million. This is off by a mile, considering JPMorgan has $3.89 trillion in total assets, according to the latest figures from a 2023 valuation.
In his disclosure, Armstrong talked about the importance of JPMorgan’s move, stating that it shouldn’t be underestimated.
He alleged a quiet accumulation of XRP by JPMorgan, which, according to him, positions the bank as a major player in the crypto scene.
Notably, Armstrong’s claims also called attention to BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. He alleged that the asset manager, which recently had its iShares BTC ETF approved, is exploring the inclusion of XRP in its investment portfolio.
Ben Armstrong further called attention to the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. SEC. According to him, the fact that these major institutions have made these “bold moves” despite the legal constraint indicates a growing confidence in XRP’s future.
If such an accumulation trend ever existed, the development would suggest that, as the legal battles persist, influential financial players are placing their bets on XRP, which recently gained regulatory clarity.
Ex Ripple Director Reacts
Reacting to Armstrong’s claims, Matt Hamilton, a former Director at Ripple, expressed complete skepticism. While doubting that such a purchase ever happened, he questioned its significance in the wild chance that it did, considering XRP’s supply.
I’m guessing this is a parody account? I mean, assuming you can parody Ben Armstrong?
Hint for those hard of numerical reasoning: There is 100B XRP, so 7.5M / 100B = 0.0075%
— Matt Hamilton (@HammerToe) January 11, 2024
The former Ripple Director noted that if Armstrong’s statement meant that JPMorgan purchased 7.5 million XRP, that would only amount to 0.0075% of XRP’s total supply, hardly a significant figure.
Moreover, Hamilton questioned the accuracy of the claim that the purchase of 7.5 million XRP amounted to 7.5% of JPMorgan’s wealth.
Leveraging a $3.5 trillion valuation for JPMorgan’s total assets, Hamilton showed that 7.5 million XRP would only amount to 0.00013% of the bank’s assets, not 7.5%.
Another voice of disbelief came from Daniel, CTO at Eminence, who laughed off the notion that JPMorgan had quietly amassed such a significant portion of XRP. He found humor in Armstrong’s statement about the percentage of JPMorgan’s total wealth.
The false claims first surfaced last year and were swiftly debunked due to their lack of evidence and inaccuracies in calculations. They were first introduced by a source seeking to create a false sense of institutional adoption, and then publicized by influencers.
The narrative has now resurfaced, with Armstrong bringing it back into the spotlight as credible news. Some individuals are questioning whether Armstrong’s account has been compromised.
