That's basically my best explanation still.

We should applaud the XRP guy as a fucking genius if that's really all there is to it; what a playbook.  Imagine becoming a billionaire based on _that_.

elvismercury

Create a token called xrp.  Sell it to exchanges for pennies to sell to retail speculators. Use the proceeds to run tons of marketing campaigns able to pump the price. Create a bot Army on social media to manipulate the narrative and encourage more retail speculation. Dump xrp to fund Ripple operations and marketing campaigns. Repeat.

AskSN

How the fuck is XRP worth anything?

Create a token called xrp.  Sell it to exchanges for pennies to sell to retail speculators. Use the proceeds to run tons of marketing campaigns able to pump the price. Create a bot Army on social media to manipulate the narrative and encourage more retail speculation. Dump xrp to fund Ripple operations and marketing campaigns. Repeat. 