In my recent article on JPM Coin, JPMorgan Chase's prototype digital token, I casually mentioned that there are "indications that Ripple is essentially a scam." I had no idea the can of worms I was opening. At least a dozen articles popped up in the cryptosphere questioning my sources - and perhaps my sanity - in languages as varied as Japanese, Spanish, and even Turkish. Needless to say, I had to dig deeper - and what I found out about Ripple was chilling. Peeling Back the Layers of the Ripple Business Model At its core, the Ripple business model is a pump and dump scheme, as it undergoes numerous activities to increase the value of the XRP cryptocurrency (crypto). Unlike most crypto pump and dumps, however, Ripple takes numerous steps to obscure this basic fact.