When Late John McAfee Called XRP a Monumental Scam In 2020

Crypto enthusiast XrpHodL_ recently shared a clip from a 2020 interview that has drawn renewed attention from the XRP Army.

In the clip, Late John McAfee sat with Tony Edward on the Thinking Crypto Podcast and delivers a scathing verdict on XRP.

“I am not a fan of XRP,” he says. “There are still scams in this world that are monumental.”

John McAfee in 2020 Thinking Crypto interview….

"I'm not a fan of $XRP …. There are still scams in this world that are monumental." pic.twitter.com/2IPmAM181t

— 🥇👨🏽‍🚀 (@XrpHodL_) November 11, 2026

Who Was John McAfee?

McAfee founded McAfee Associates in 1987, producing what became one of the most widely installed antivirus programs in the world. He left the company in 1994 and had no involvement with it after that. In his later years, he pivoted hard into cryptocurrency.

His entry into crypto began with his role as chairman and CEO of MGT Capital Investments, which became the world’s sixth largest Bitcoin mining firm at its peak. He used his platform to promote various altcoins.

The U.S. Justice Department indicted McAfee in June 2020 on tax evasion charges tied to income from crypto-related projects. He died on June 23, 2021, in a Spanish prison cell at the age of 75, and some conspiracy theories still surround his death.

The XRP Question

XRP is heavily associated with Ripple Labs, a fintech company that markets blockchain-based payment solutions to financial institutions. The asset offers fast, low-cost cross-border transactions. Critics, including McAfee, often take a hard stance by calling XRP a scam, dismissing the asset without detailed explanation and leaving the community to draw its conclusion.

The Community’s Response

The clip resurfaced alongside renewed attention on Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. SEC court documents reveal that Garlinghouse sold 357 million XRP. The SEC also alleged that Garlinghouse appeared to pause his sales during price declines and resumed them when market conditions improved. Garlinghouse had publicly described himself as “very long” XRP during that same period.

Reactions across the replies were mixed but telling. One user praised Garlinghouse sarcastically, calling him the best seller around. Another commenter called for those responsible to face consequences, asking that they be brought to justice.

One noted he holds a small position in XRP and plans to wait and see, jokingly describing it as a scam. McAfee’s 2020 verdict on XRP never generated a formal rebuttal. Combined with ongoing questions about Ripple executives profiting at the expense of the community, the heat on Ripple for XRP’s underperformance is rising rapidly.