You found the back room.

The record

Verified history, with sources.

1. 2004Verified fact

   Ryan Fugger starts Ripple

   Fugger founds the original Ripple project, a trust based payment network built on IOUs routed through trusted intermediaries, later run as RipplePay.com.

   Source

2. May 2011Verified fact

   Bitcoin without mining

   Jed McCaleb floats a consensus based alternative to Bitcoin mining in a forum post.

   Source

3. June 2012Verified fact

   XRP Ledger goes live

   David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto finish the XRP Ledger code and launch it.

   Source

4. September 2012Verified fact

   NewCoin becomes OpenCoin

   Chris Larsen joins and the team founds NewCoin, quickly renamed OpenCoin. The founders gift 80 billion XRP to the company.

   Source

5. 2013Verified fact

   OpenCoin becomes Ripple Labs

   The company rebrands as Ripple Labs to separate itself from the Ripple project name.

   Source

6. Oct 6, 2015Verified fact

   Ripple Labs becomes Ripple

   The company drops Labs from its name and launches settlement and FX solutions for banks.

   Source

7. Oct 2, 2018Verified fact

   xRapid goes commercial

   Ripple announces xRapid, its XRP based liquidity product, is commercially available.

   Source

8. Nov 7, 2019Verified fact

   On-Demand Liquidity

   Ripple reports 300+ customers and calls the XRP liquidity product On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), used by MoneyGram and others.

   Source

9. Sep 24, 2020Verified fact

   XRPL Foundation founded

   An independent nonprofit for the XRP Ledger launches with over $6.5M from Coil, Ripple, and GateHub.

   Source

10. Dec 22, 2020Verified fact

    SEC sues Ripple

    The SEC alleges Ripple, Larsen, and Garlinghouse ran a $1.3 billion unregistered XRP offering.

    Source

11. Jul 13, 2023Verified fact

    The Torres ruling

    Judge Analisa Torres rules exchange sales of XRP were not investment contracts, while institutional sales were.

    Source

12. Aug 7, 2024Verified fact

    Remedies ruling

    Ripple is fined $125,035,150 and enjoined from future registration violations, far below the SEC's request.

    Source

13. Dec 17, 2024Verified fact

    RLUSD launches

    Ripple USD goes live on global exchanges under an NYDFS trust charter, on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.

    Source

14. Apr 8, 2025Verified fact

    Hidden Road deal

    Ripple announces a $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road.

    Source

15. Aug 7, 2025Verified fact

    Appeals dropped, case ends

    The SEC and Ripple jointly dismiss their appeals; the $125M penalty and injunction stand.

    Source

16. Nov 13, 2025Verified fact

    First spot XRP ETF

    Canary Capital's XRPC begins trading on Nasdaq.

    Source

17. Mar 17, 2026Verified fact

    SEC token taxonomy

    The SEC, joined by the CFTC, issues an interpretation classifying crypto assets; XRP is cited as a digital commodity example.

    Source

18. Oct 5, 2026Verified fact

    CFTC will act without Congress

    After Congress failed to pass the Clarity Act, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig says the agency will build crypto market structure under its existing authority through Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM.

    Source

19. Oct 12, 2026Verified fact

    Standard Chartered custodies RLUSD

    Standard Chartered launches institutional RLUSD custody on the XRP Ledger through its DIFC branch.

    Source

20. Oct 13, 2026Verified fact

    BNY and Citadel tokenized repo

    BNY and Citadel Securities complete a tokenized Treasury triparty repo. Claims that Ripple was involved are not supported by BNY's release.

    Source

21. Oct 14, 2026Verified fact

    DriveWealth partners with Ripple

    DriveWealth will use RLUSD on the XRPL for settlement, starting in Europe, plus Ripple Payments and custody.

    Source

22. Oct 15, 2026Verified fact

    Cross River embeds RLUSD

    Cross River Bank adds RLUSD on the XRP Ledger to its core banking platform beside ACH, wires, and real-time payments.

    Source

23. Oct 15, 2026Verified fact

    Transak lists RLUSD on XRPL

    Users can buy RLUSD on the XRP Ledger through Transak with cards and bank transfers.

    Source

24. Oct 28, 2026Verified fact

    Swell in New York

    Ripple Swell is scheduled in New York City, with a DriveWealth fireside chat.

    Source

The tinfoil hat track

Community lore, theories, and riddles.

Everything below is speculation shared by the community. None of it is confirmed, and none of it is financial advice. Read it with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

1. 2017 to 2019Community theory

   Bearableguy123, the jester bear

   An anonymous account that posted cryptic comics and coded messages on Twitter and Reddit, mainly 2017 to 2019. Rumored to be a Ripple insider; never confirmed. BG123 never explained the riddles.

   XRP community; AllAboutXRP summary / Source

2. Mid 2018Community theory

   589 as a price

   589 decoded from BG123 artwork as a $589 XRP target, first tied to Dec 31, 2018. Became a cultural totem despite missing its date.

   BG123 followers / Source

3. Aug 5, 2018Community theory

   589 as Cobalt

   589 read as Cobalt's atomic weight (about 58.9), pointing to Ripple's planned Cobalt consensus upgrade. A riddle about technology rather than a literal price.

   Galgitron blog, Aug 5 2018 / Source

4. Aug 5, 2018Community theory

   589 as nostro math

   $23 trillion in nostro accounts divided by 39 billion circulating XRP is about $589. The idea that XRP replacing prefunded accounts implies a $589 value; the author called it impossible by end of 2018.

   Readers cited by Galgitron / Source

5. Since Oct 2018Community theory

   RippleRiddler

   A sparse riddle account, bio "for entertainment purposes only", about 23 posts and 40K followers since Oct 2018. Followers decode its posts and their dates as hints; truthcrumbs ties it to October events.

   @RippleRiddler; decoded by @truthcrumbs and others / Source

6. Dec 20, 2019Community theory

   The Christmas scene

   BG123's Dec 20, 2019 scene shows a teaching bear at a whiteboard with 589, SWIFT, Cobalt, Comex, Nostro, Liquidity. A lesson on how XRP would take over SWIFT liquidity.

   @Ripplesinwales / Source

7. Apr 2022Community theory

   589 as a SWIFT reset

   Lodestar 1, as quoted: "589 is the Comex rule. 589 are the Nostro/Vostro accounts unleashed." Read as a reset of SWIFT era rails tied to ISO 20022. Ripple replacing legacy payment messaging and liquidity.

   @Ripplesinwales / Source

8. Jan 17, 2026Community theory

   The Lorest Story Ever Told

   X Article narrating XRP history from Ryan Fugger sketching RipplePay "in a Vancouver basement in 2004". Community storytelling of XRP's origin; core names and dates match sources, the basement detail and full text are unverified.

   @Illyriannft (ILLY) / Source

9. Sep 29, 2026Community theory

   Wizard of Oz

   XRP mapped onto Oz: silver slippers, dissolved silver logo, the Grateful Dead "Ripple" lyric, Kansas, and the JoelKatz handle matching actor Joel Grey's birth name. Oz as a money allegory with Ripple behind the curtain; framed by its author as fun and symbolic.

   @NFAdotcrypto and replies / Source

10. Oct 6, 2026Community theory

    Wizard of Oz warning

    Video titled "What The Wizard of Oz Was Actually Warning Us About". Oz read as a warning about the monetary system.

    @Steve09812 / Source

11. Oct 15, 2026Community theory

    In BG we trust

    The Cross River RLUSD deal is cited as proof BG123's hints keep playing out. Ongoing faith in BG123 as a guide.

    @NFAdotcrypto / Source

12. OngoingUnverified

    589 coincidences

    Garlinghouse following 589 accounts, Hidden Road at 589 Fifth Avenue, COMEX Rule 589, unassigned ISO 4217 slot 589. Treated as winks; none shown to be intentional. A Simpsons $589 screenshot is a debunked forgery.

    XRP community, compiled by AllAboutXRP / Source