Crypto Banter’s Ran Neuner says Ripple is ‘despicable,’ tips hat to ZachXBT: Hall of Flame
Ran Neuner is the CEO of Onchain Capital, founder of Crypto Banter, and a vocal crypto commentator on X.
Crypto Banter’s Ran Neuner has a “problem with the structure of XRP and Ripple.”
While he appreciates Ripple sticking it to the SEC, he is hung up on the “moral and ethical” side of things with Ripple.
He thinks Ripple is giving a bad deal to those holding XRP.
“Here is a centralized company that was selling tokens to fund the operations of a CENTRALIZED company for the benefit of the shareholders and not necessarily for the benefit of the tokenholders. I have an issue with that — morally and ethically.”
“Eventually, the shareholders are going to get dividends — it is despicable,” Neuner tells Magazine.
Neuner isn’t afraid to go against the norm and speak his mind. It is a trait that has helped him accumulate over 720,200 Twitter (now X) followers. Not that he’s bothered by follower numbers:
“To be honest, I don’t really care about the growth. I use Twitter as a platform to tell people what I think. It’s uncensored, unfiltered, and it’s not for everyone,” says Neuner.
Neuner serves as the CEO and co-founder of Onchain Capital, a crypto investment fund and consulting service. He also co-hosts a daily live broadcast on the Crypto Banter YouTube channel to hundreds of thousands of people.
Somehow, he still manages to also host a two-hour live Twitter Space session on a daily basis… and he has four children under the age of eight.
His kids know that dad is involved in the world of broadcasting and have picked up chart reading skills by osmosis.
“I woke up on Saturday, the market was all green, my son said, ‘Oh oh, all the bubbles are green, does that mean you have to go to work today?’”
What led to Twitter Fame?
Neuner says he started a Twitter account for work.
“I started my Twitter account when I started the first televised crypto show in the world [Crypto Trader] on CNBC. I needed a Twitter account. In the beginning, I had reasonably fast growth,” he tells Magazine.
Despite lacking a formal growth strategy, Neuner now sees a constant flow of followers thanks to his daily live broadcasts on YouTube and his regular sessions on Twitter Spaces.
“It is a great place to test your opinion, and it is a great outlet when I feel strongly about something. I rally people in the community.”
Twitter Beefs
Spicy Beef: FatMan Terra
Neuner isn’t a fan of anonymous sleuth FatMan Terra.
“He hides behind an avatar, no one knows who he is… well, we know exactly who he is,” Neuner says.
FatMan Terra began investigating Neuner over his ties to Terraform Labs, shortly after its native token, LUNA, collapsed.
“He believes he can just spread misinformation to create narratives and stories about people,” says Neuner.
Neuner says that during a bear market, people are always looking for someone to blame, and FatMan Terra targeting influential people does “more damage than he thinks.”
“We get threats all the time because of his actions,” Neuner explains.
Beef with pleasant aftertaste: ZachXBT
Neuner has had a wild ride with crypto scam investigator ZachXBT but admits that he is still a fan of him at the end of the day.
“Even in my worst times of being attacked by ZachXBT, I believe the service that ZachXBT does is a really valuable service in the community,” Neuner declares.
Neuner explains that he ended up in a mediation process with ZachXBT after the investigator accused him of pumping and dumping on his followers. Neuner was considering suing because of “the damage” he sustained.
“In the mediation, we showed him his tweets and allegations were wrong, and he was man enough to write a thread about it saying he is wrong.”
What type of content do you do?
Most of his content is crypto-related and occasional veers into financial advice:
“90% of my tweets are crypto-related,” Neuner explains, adding that the other 10% is “complaining about bad culture.”
“I have a passion for good service. I have a complete dislike for getting bad service. So, I hate flying on any type of American airline. They don’t want your business.”
What content do you like?
Neuner explains he much prefers to follow people whom he disagrees with.
“The more people you hate on your Twitter feed, the better your experience will be. This is because Twitter becomes an echo chamber, and markets love echo chambers. Surround yourself with people you don’t agree with — they will show you why you don’t agree with them.”
Adam Cochran and Cory Klippsten are a couple of good examples. Cochran “is a neurotic, hysterical person” who acts like everything is the end of the world.
Neuner “can’t stand reading his tweets” but forces himself to anyway. Klippsten, meanwhile, seems to think he is the chief Bitcoiner.
“He genuinely believes that he is the CEO of Bitcoin and has more of a share of Bitcoin than anyone else. I listen to him to understand what the Bitcoin Maxis are thinking.”
But there are accounts he follows for useful and insightful market commentary.
“If I want on-chain analysis, I’ll go to Dylan LeClair or Will Clemente,” Neuner says.
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Predictions?
Neuner thinks that the “raging bull markets” era is finished, blaming it on regulatory uncertainty.
“There is less money in because of regulation uncertainty, [so the next bull run] will not be as violent. We will have a slow, sustained market,” he says.
He hints that it might be wise to keep a close eye on Solana, Aptos, Sui and Ethereum as potential game changers. “It’s probably going to be one of them,” he says.
“If I was going to put my money on one of them, I’d say Sui over Aptos. I think technically, the people working there are better.”
Neuner explains the whole space is still waiting for that “one killer” application to get mass adoption for blockchain.
“If we get an app where we get 500 million retail people not knowing it is on a blockchain, whatever app that blockchain is written on, is going to fly to the moon,” he predicts.
“That could be the moment where overnight we see one go from $29 to $290,” Neuner adds.
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Italy’s securities regulator set a firm timetable for applying the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the country, warning that unlicensed crypto platforms face a deadline to either seek authorization or leave the market.
The move directly affects virtual asset service providers (VASPs) currently operating under Italy’s regime and the retail investors who use them.
In a news release published Thursday, Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) reminded the market that Dec. 30 is the last day VASPs registered with the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) can operate under the existing national framework.
After that date, only entities authorized as crypto asset service providers (CASPs) under MiCA, including firms passporting into Italy from another EU member state, will be allowed to offer crypto‑asset services in the country.
CONSOB notes that, under Italy’s MiCA‑implementing legislation, VASPs that submit an application to be authorized as CASPs in Italy or another European Union member state by Dec. 30 may continue operating while their applications are assessed, but no later than June 30, 2026.
This transitional operating period is available only to operators who file by the deadline and ends once authorization is granted or refused, or when the June 30, 2026, limit is reached.
Related: ECB president calls to address risks from non-EU stablecoins
Obligations for firms that do not apply
For VASPs that decide not to seek authorization under MiCA, CONSOB outlined specific obligations. These operators must cease their activities in Italy by Dec. 30, terminate existing contracts, and return clients’ crypto‑assets and funds in accordance with customers’ instructions.
CONSOB also said that VASPs registered in the OAM list must publish adequate information on their websites and inform clients directly about the measures they intend to adopt, either to comply with MiCA or to ensure an orderly closure of existing relationships.
This framework stems from Italy’s legislative decree implementing MiCA, which introduced a transitional regime for existing VASPs and set the conditions under which they can continue operating while moving to the new CASP authorization system. The decree makes use of the flexibility allowed by MiCA’s transitional provisions to set national deadlines, including the June 30, 2026 date referred to in CONSOB’s communication.
Warnings to retail investors
CONSOB’s news release includes a separate section titled “warnings for investors.”
The regulator points out that VASPs currently operating in Italy may no longer be authorized to do so after Dec. 30, and stresses that investors should check whether they have received the necessary information from their provider on its plans to comply with MiCA.
If not, CONSOB advises investors to ask the operator for clarification or request the return of their funds.
EU‑level context under MiCA
CONSOB’s communication sits within the wider EU framework for MiCA’s application and transitional measures. On the same day, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the end of MiCA transitional periods, highlighting that member states can provide temporary continuation of existing licenses for existing providers, but these periods are limited and will expire.
Related: EU plan would boost ESMA powers over crypto and capital markets
The ESMA’s statement explains that firms operating under national transitional regimes are not automatically MiCA‑authorized and emphasizes the need for “orderly wind-down plans” where providers do not obtain authorization before transitional periods end.
Italy’s hard stop for applications and continued operation shows how member states are using the discretion MiCA gives them over transitional regimes. The Italian transitional period now has defined end‑points, and continued activity in the market will require MiCA‑compliant authorization.
Magazine: EU’s privacy-killing Chat Control bill delayed — but fight isn’t over
A new long-awaited child poverty strategy is promising to lift half a million children out of poverty by the end of this parliament – but critics have branded it unambitious.
The headline announcement in the government’s plan is the pledge to lift the two-child benefit cap, announced in Rachel Reeves’s budget last week.
It also includes:
• Providing upfront childcare support for parents on universal credit returning to work
• An £8m fund to end the placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond a six-week limit
• Reforms to cut the cost of baby formula
• A new legal duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation
Many of the measures have previously been announced.
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Two-child cap ‘a real victory for the left’
The government also pointed to its plan in the budget to cut energy bills by £150 a year, and its previously promised £950m boost to a local authority housing fund, which it says will deliver 5,000 high-quality homes for better temporary accommodation.
Downing Street said the strategy would lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030, saying that would be the biggest reduction in a single parliament since records began.
But charities had been hoping for a 10-year strategy and argue the plan lacks ambition.
A record 4.5 million children (about 31%) are living in poverty in the UK – 900,000 more since 2010/11, according to government figures.
Phillip Anderson, the Strategic Director for External Affairs at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), told Sky News: “Abolishing the two-child limit is a hell of a centre piece, but beyond that it’s mainly a summary of previously announced policies and commitments.
“The really big thing for me is it misses the opportunity to talk about the longer term. It was supposed to be a 10-year strategy, we wanted to see real ambition and ideally legally binding targets for reducing poverty.
“The government itself says there will still be around four million children living in poverty after these measures and the strategy has very little to say to them.”
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‘A budget for benefits street’
‘Budget for benefits street’ row
The biggest measure in the strategy is the plan to lift the two-child benefit cap from April. This is estimated to lift 450,000 children out of poverty by 2030, at a cost of £3bn.
The government has long been under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to scrap the cap, with most experts arguing that it is the quickest, most cost-effective way to drive-down poverty this parliament.
The cap, introduced by Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children. It meant the average affected household losing £4,300 per year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated in 2024.
The government argues that a failure to tackle child poverty holds back the economy, and young people at school, cutting their employment and earning prospects in later life.
However, the Conservatives argue parents on benefits should have to make the same financial choices about children as everyone else.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “Work is the best way out poverty but since this government took office, unemployment has risen every single month and this budget for Benefits Street will only make the situation worse. “
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OBR leak: This has happened before
‘Bring back Sure Start’
Lord Bird, a crossbench peer who founded the Big Issue and grew up in poverty, said while he supported the lifting of the cap there needed to be “more joined up thinking” across government for a longer-term strategy.
He has been pushing for the creation of a government ministry of “poverty prevention and cure”, and for legally binding targets on child poverty.
“You have to be able to measure yourself, you can’t have the government marking its own homework,” he told Sky News.
Lord Bird also said he was a “great believer” in resurrecting Sure Start centres and expanding them beyond early years.
The New Labour programme offered support services for pre-school children and their parents and is widely seen to have improved health and educational outcomes. By its peak in 2009-2010 there were 3,600 centres – the majority of which closed following cuts by the subsequent Conservative government.
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Lord Bird on the ‘great distraction’ from child poverty
PM to meet families
Sir Keir Starmer’s government have since announced 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs – but many Labour MPs feel this announcement went under the radar and ministers missed a trick in not calling them “Sure Starts” as it is a name people are familiar with.
The prime minister is expected to meet families and children in Wales on Friday, alongside the Welsh First Minister, to make the case for his strategy and meet those he hopes will benefit from it.
Several other charities have urged ministers to go further. Both Crisis and Shelter called for the government to unfreeze housing benefit and build more social rent homes, while the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said that “if we are to end child poverty – not just reduce it” measures like free bus travel for school-age children would be needed.
The strategy comes after the government set up a child poverty taskforce in July 2024, which was initially due to report back in May. The taskforce’s findings have not yet been published – only the government’s response.
Sir Keir said: “Too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals and the support they need to make ends meet.
“I will not stand by and watch that happen, because the cost of doing nothing is too high for children, for families and for Britain.”
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