As the crypto market attempted to recover from a recent downturn, investor attention shifted to a viral screenshot that allegedly captured a conversation between two Ripple insiders
The image, presented as a WhatsApp screenshot, shows unnamed participants claiming insider knowledge of Ripple and the Flare ecosystem. In particular, the messages allege that Ripple insiders are quietly accumulating FLR, seeking strategic control over Flare, and deliberately suppressing FLR’s price to gain leverage.
Meanwhile, Flare CEO Hugo Philion has debunked the WhatsApp conversation, describing the screenshot as “clearly nonsense.”
Similarly, several commentators have dismissed the WhatsApp conversation, with some suggesting it was staged to generate engagement.
The viral WhatsApp conversation
Launched in 2022, Flare has steadily gained traction across the broader crypto ecosystem. Developers built the network to extend smart contract functionality and decentralized finance capabilities to assets such as XRP, which lack native programmability.
Although Flare has grown particularly prominent within the XRP community, largely due to its FAsset initiative, the network operates independently and is not controlled by Ripple.
Meanwhile, Flare is positioning itself as a core DeFi layer for XRP. Its wrapped asset FXRP, minted by locking XRP in Flare’s vaults, has reached a circulating supply of 89.03 million tokens, valued at approximately $170.98 million at current prices.
Philion has emphasized that retail participants have driven this growth, noting that institutional players have yet to enter. Given FXRP’s expanding adoption, he added that the asset is gradually evolving from a simple digital token into a yield-bearing financial instrument.