We need to talk about XRP. Again. But every few months, another headline yells about a catastrophic price error. It’s these unpredictable spikes and crashes that confound us, and more often than not, leave puzzled investors destroyed financially. The latest? XRP hitting $21,000 on live American TV. Prior to that, we witnessed it spur a 228% increase on MEXC in under a minute. And who doesn’t remember Bitrue XRP dropping to $0.0001 causing massive liquidations.

These aren’t even intended as funny anecdotes for crypto twitter. These are real people losing real money. And it’s about damn time we recognized that these “glitches” are all part of a far worse, more nefarious issue.

Unregulated Markets Breed Injustice

Let's be blunt: the cryptocurrency market, in its current state, is a Wild West. And just like every other Wild West, it’s become a hotbed for those looking to scam the innocent. The lure of easy money and getting in early on the next great innovation are too tempting. They prey on novice investors, many of whom cannot bear to lose their life savings.

Consider the people who will be most attracted to leveraged trading on an exchange like Bitrue. Are they seasoned Wall Street veterans? Or are they the smart, driven young people—maybe even from underrepresented backgrounds—looking to enhance their prosperity? For millions, crypto offers an opportunity to break free from the established financial system, one that’s long marginalized them. Without careful regulatory development though, they’re just going from the frying pan into the fire.

The wealthy can absorb a loss. And so that they can both better diversify their portfolios and help them weather their own storm. What happens when someone puts their entire savings into XRP on a platform with inadequate liquidity and faulty data feeds? What do you tell them when a glitch collectively wipes out their investment overnight? This is not just about the dollars – this is about their dreams, their futures, the very fabric of economic justice.

Libertarian Ideals, Real-World Harm

The crypto innovation space has been long dominated by a strong libertarian ethos. This philosophy stresses the importance of decentralization and the argument for freedom from government control as the primary concern. That all sounds wonderful on paper. In reality, blanket deregulation has created the conditions for manipulation, fraud and even calamitous “glitches.”

The argument is always the same: regulation stifles innovation. But what of the innovation of investor protection? Whatever happened to the big innovation of providing consumers a stable, predictable and fair market? The current system isn't innovative; it's reckless. But this is a casino where the house always wins, and all the small investor gets is stuck holding the bag.

People need to be empowered to own their personal investments. They need to understand the space deeply before committing their hard-earned dollars to crypto. How can anyone expect to do the best quality science when the data they’re working with is clearly incomplete at best and inaccurate at worst. How can they ever possibly make informed decisions when exchanges are permitted to exist without any accountability whatsoever.

Exchanges Must Be Held Accountable

Exchanges such as MEXC, which facilitated that crazy 228% pump, should be held responsible for the havoc they facilitate. So not enough to just throw up your hands and say, uh, oops, it was a one-time error. But these technical hiccups can have dangerous real-world impacts. Exchanges should be accountable. The integrity of the exchanges’ platforms and the accuracy of their data feeds is entirely within the exchanges’ control.

These are not radical proposals. These are all reasonable, common-sense measures, all clearly intended to protect retail investors and promote a future more appropriate for a stable market.

  • Improved Data Feed Accuracy: We need standardized, reliable data feeds across all exchanges.
  • Circuit Breakers: Implement circuit breakers to automatically halt trading during periods of extreme volatility.
  • Liquidity Requirements: Increase liquidity requirements for exchanges to prevent flash crashes.
  • Investor Education: Provide comprehensive investor education resources to help people understand the risks involved in cryptocurrency trading.

The Coinbase error showed XRP at a mind boggling $7,308. In the same way, CoinMarketCap wrongly listed it as $161 million. These mistakes are not one-off episodes. They are warning signs. They are red flags. They are testimony that the system is rigged.

It's time to stop treating these "glitches" as mere technical hiccups and start recognizing them for what they are: a symptom of a deeply flawed and dangerously unregulated market. It's time to demand accountability from exchanges. It’s long past time to take on the libertarian dogma that has made this chaos possible.

Contact your elected officials. Share your stories of losses and frustration. Demand stronger cryptocurrency regulation. Show them that you won’t let them get away with letting dangerous unregulated markets continue to prey on vulnerable investors.

The future of cryptocurrency depends on it. So does the long-term financial well-being of millions of Americans.

The future of cryptocurrency depends on it. And so does the financial well-being of countless individuals.