Peter Brandt calls XRP backers a cult, says charts alone justify a bet
Trader Peter Brandt criticised XRP's devoted community as cult-like on X while saying its price charts alone have been reason enough to take a position.
Why it matters
Brandt's remarks do not change XRP's protocol, supply or any market structure; their relevance is that a long-standing chart-based trader who is openly negative on the token on fundamentals nonetheless says price action alone has justified a bet. His earlier $5.40 projection and the 251% implied gain from $1.54 are his own figures, not desk estimates or forecasts, and he said in 2024 that he held no position.
Where the sources disagree
Brandt's wording distinguishing openness from ignorance
a hole in the dead
Bitcoin.com News
a hole in the Kopf / a hole in the head
BTC-ECHO
Bitcoin.com News renders the line as 'a hole in the dead', while BTC-ECHO's German text renders the same remark as 'a hole im Kopf' ('a hole in the head').
Whether XRP's supply is a reason to avoid it
High token supply weighs against XRP as an investment, in Brandt's view
BTC-ECHO
Circulating supply cannot be changed at will, so the supply objection does not hold
BTC-ECHO
Brandt cites a high token supply as a reason XRP does not convince him as an investment, while XRP's defenders reject that argument on the grounds that circulating supply cannot be altered at will.
Key facts
Peter Brandt wrote on X that it is not necessary to be a certified cult member to be an interested owner of XRP, and that there is a difference between being open-minded and having a hole in the dead.
Reported by BTC-ECHO
Brandt said in the same run of posts that XRP's charts alone have always been enough reason to make a bet.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
Brandt posted a chart on Sept. 26 spanning more than a decade of XRP trading that highlights two long periods when the trading range narrowed.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
Brandt praised an XRP chart pattern in 2024 while stating that he held no position at the time.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
Days earlier, on Cointelegraph's Trade Secrets, Brandt called XRP a 'fool coin' but said it 'can be used and it can be effectively used for transactional purposes cheaply', arguing that transactional utility does not establish market value.
Reported by The Crypto Basic
BTC-ECHO reports Brandt rejects XRP as an investment partly because of what he sees as a high token supply, and says the XRP community countered that the circulating supply cannot be changed at will.
Disputed figureReported by BTC-ECHO
Brandt contrasted XRP as a utility-focused token with Bitcoin as a store-of-value asset, and compared XRP's transactional role to the U.S. dollar, which people do not necessarily buy and hold because it works as a medium of exchange.
Reported by The Crypto Basic
What happened
Peter Brandt, who entered commodity markets in 1976 and founded Factor Trading in 1980, posted on X that owning XRP does not require being a 'certified cult member', and that a person's openness should not mean 'a hole in the dead' (BTC-ECHO renders the same line as 'a hole in the Kopf' translated as 'a hole in the head'). He also wrote that 'the charts alone have always been enough reason for us to make a bet', after publishing a Sept. 26 chart spanning more than a decade of XRP trading that highlights two long periods when the trading range narrowed. Bitcoin.com News, citing that same Sept. 26 post, said Brandt had earlier projected an XRP price of $5.40, an implied gain of about 251% from $1.54, and that he praised an XRP pattern in 2024 while saying he held no position. The criticism is not new: The Crypto Basic reported Brandt calling XRP a 'fool coin' days earlier during a Cointelegraph Trade Secrets appearance, where he accepted that XRP 'can be used and it can be effectively used for transactional purposes cheaply' but argued utility does not establish market value, comparing XRP to the U.S. dollar as a functioning medium of exchange that people do not necessarily hold as an investment. BTC-ECHO adds that he doubts XRP as an investment partly because of what he sees as a high token supply. XRP's defenders rejected both points, saying use cases for the XRP Ledger have moved well beyond payments and that the circulating supply cannot be changed at will. What remains unstated is whether Brandt has actually taken a position in XRP, and what the Sept. 26 chart's narrowing ranges imply; Bitcoin Insider, which carries the same remarks as a syndicated story, likewise reports no purchase.
How the story developed
- Official statement
Brandt posts on X that owning XRP does not require being a certified cult member
The same post set his chart-based reason for taking a bet against his view of the token's followers.
- First report
First report by The Crypto Basic
Peter Brandt Says XRP Transactional Utility Alone Does Not Increase Its Value, Separates XRP From Bitcoin
- Update
Brandt appears on Cointelegraph's Trade Secrets and calls XRP a 'fool coin' while accepting its low-cost transactional use
He argued that being useful for transactions does not by itself set XRP's market value, comparing XRP's medium-of-exchange role to the U.S. dollar.
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by BTC-ECHO
Peter Brandt stichelt gegen XRP
- Update
XRP community publicly rejects Brandt's supply and use-case objections
Supporters said XRP Ledger use cases have developed well beyond payments and that the circulating supply cannot be changed arbitrarily.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Peter Brandt Says XRP Charts Alone Give Him Reason to Make a Bet
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 26 Sept 2026, 10:49 UTC: The Crypto Basic — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 27 Sept 2026, 13:15 UTC: BTC-ECHO — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 27 Sept 2026, 17:30 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 27 Sept 2026, 17:32 UTC: Bitcoin Insider — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: United States
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin.com News Company, official | Peter Brandt Says XRP Charts Alone Give Him Reason to Make a Bet | Independent | |
| The Crypto Basic Crypto media | Peter Brandt Says XRP Transactional Utility Alone Does Not Increase Its Value, Separates XRP From Bitcoin | Original | |
| BTC-ECHO Crypto media | Peter Brandt stichelt gegen XRP | Independent | |
| Bitcoin Insider Aggregator | Peter Brandt Renews Criticism of XRP ‘Cult’ While Eyeing Chart-Based Trade | Syndicated |
Related events
Ripple CEO Garlinghouse says he holds Solana, backs five-coin five-year basket
At the Faena Forum, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said he owns some Solana, is not an XRP maximalist, and told investors to buy the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap and hold them for five years.
Paxos adds XRP to its crypto brokerage service for partner platforms
Paxos added XRP to its Crypto Brokerage platform, letting partner financial apps offer buying, selling, custody, deposits, withdrawals and transfers of the token.
Ripple released 1 billion XRP from escrow on Oct. 1 and relocked 700 million; XRP ETFs hold 1.18 billion
Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP on Oct. 1 and returned 700 million to escrow, while US spot XRP ETFs hold about 1.18 billion XRP as price fell toward $1.40.
Solana spot ETFs extend inflow streak as Bitwise adds SOL exposure
US spot Solana ETFs posted 6 straight sessions of net inflows, Bitwise led with more than $55 million on 25 September, and SOL reached $122, its highest since January.
XRP drops below $1.30 after Senate CLARITY Act fails then rebounds as whales accumulate 1.54 billion tokens
XRP fell to $1.30 after the U.S. Senate rejected the CLARITY Act and the Fed raised rates, then recovered above $1.45 as whales bought 1.54 billion tokens worth roughly $2 billion.