Trolls drive "CEO of XRP" to abandon Ripple

Tiffany Hayden, the self-described "CEO of XRP" and prominent personality in the blockchain space, has announced that she no longer holds any XRP.

According to a March 9 tweet, Hayden appears to have sold all her XRP in response to attacks by aggressive XRP supporters.

"I’m done."

Previously one of the most popular proponents of XRP, Hayden could regularly be found discussing the benefits of the cryptocurrency over competitors, as well as sharing financial insights to her more than 76,000 Twitter followers. However, it appears that the negative backlash she received over some of her more controversial tweets and opinions made her a target for XRP trolls and passionate investors.

“Wherever XRP supporters congregate, they have nothing better to do than talk shit about me, which my parents and children have the pleasure of reading. I’m done. Find somebody else to demonize and spend your life bitching about," said Hayden in a Twitter response.

The attacks appears to have begun shortly after Hayden began operating her own Ripple validator node—essentially a computer that participates in the consensus process and can vote for or against amendments. Hayden initially operated this node to help alleviate some of the limitations of the XRP network, but was apparently excluded from Ripple's list of trusted validators (the dUNL).

"They attacked my character for almost a year for revealing the network was fragile, came close to halting, and that when I spun an expensive validator to help, was excluded because the dUNL has gatekeepers," said Hayden.

Although it isn't clear exactly when Hayden sold her presumably substantial XRP holdings, it is clear she didn't sell anywhere near the top, since XRP is down more than 17% in the last six months and more than 30% in the last year.

The XRP community responds

Despite losing one of its most vocal supporters of XRP in recent years, the XRP community appears to have responded relatively well to the news.

"I’ve nothing but respect for your decision. Hope you and your loved ones are well. Have a wonderful week and happy International Women’s Day!" said Robert Art, while several other prominent industry figures also expressed their approval of her move.