What was OpenCoin (original company name)?
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OpenCoin Inc. was the original name of the company now known as Ripple, founded in September 2012 by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen. The name "OpenCoin" was chosen to reflect the founders' vision of creating open, interoperable financial protocols that would connect different payment systems and currencies. However, the generic name didn't effectively communicate the company's specific technology or brand, leading to a rebranding to "Ripple Labs" just one year later in September 2013.
The founding of OpenCoin occurred shortly after the XRP Ledger mainnet launched in June 2012. The three developers who created XRPL - Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto, and David Schwartz - recognized that their technology needed commercial development and institutional adoption to achieve its potential. McCaleb partnered with Chris Larsen, an experienced fintech entrepreneur, to establish a company that could commercialize the technology and build relationships with financial institutions.
OpenCoin received 80 billion of the 100 billion XRP created in the genesis ledger, with the remaining 20 billion retained by the founders. This massive allocation gave OpenCoin the resources to fund long-term development, incentivize partners, provide liquidity for payment corridors, and sustain operations. The company's stewardship of such a large percentage of total XRP supply established a relationship between the company and cryptocurrency that would define XRP's trajectory and generate ongoing debate.
The name "OpenCoin" reflected several philosophical principles that the founders wanted to emphasize. First, "Open" signaled the open-source nature of the XRP Ledger protocol, which was publicly available and not proprietary. This openness contrasted with closed financial systems and aligned with the transparency values of the broader cryptocurrency movement. Second, "Coin" referred to the digital currency aspect, though this term became somewhat problematic as it didn't capture the protocol and network infrastructure the company was building.
During its brief period operating as OpenCoin (September 2012 - September 2013), the company focused on several key initiatives: - Developing the core XRPL protocol and infrastructure - Building gateways and market makers for the Ripple network - Recruiting engineering talent and building the development team - Establishing relationships with potential financial institution partners - Educating the market about distributed ledger technology for payments
OpenCoin's early team included the technical founders plus business and operations leaders brought in by Chris Larsen. David Schwartz served as CTO, providing technical leadership and continuity from XRPL's creation. The early team also included developers who would become important contributors to XRPL's ongoing development, establishing the engineering culture that would define the company.
The company's early strategy distinguished between the open XRP Ledger protocol (which anyone could use) and Ripple's commercial products built on top of the protocol. This distinction was important but often misunderstood. OpenCoin operated the protocol initially but worked toward progressive decentralization where independent validators would secure the network. Meanwhile, the company developed commercial products specifically for banks and payment providers.
One of OpenCoin's first challenges was explaining its technology to potential partners and investors. In 2012-2013, blockchain and cryptocurrency were still niche concepts, largely associated with Bitcoin. Few financial institutions understood distributed ledger technology or saw its relevance to their operations. OpenCoin needed to educate the market while building technology and establishing credibility in both the cryptocurrency and financial services worlds.
Funding during the OpenCoin period was relatively modest. The company raised approximately $2.9 million in angel investment in 2013 from prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund. This early funding validated the concept and provided capital to expand operations, though larger funding rounds would come after the rebranding to Ripple Labs.
The decision to rebrand from OpenCoin to Ripple Labs in September 2013 was strategic. "OpenCoin" was generic and didn't create strong brand association with the Ripple protocol and payment network the company was building. "Ripple Labs" directly connected the company to the Ripple protocol, creating clearer identity and brand recognition. The "Labs" portion suggested innovation and research, positioning the company as a technology innovator.
The timing of the rebranding, approximately one year after founding, suggests that the founders recognized fairly quickly that "OpenCoin" wasn't serving the company's branding needs. The rapid pivot demonstrated flexibility and willingness to adapt strategy based on market feedback - qualities that would characterize the company throughout its evolution.
Jed McCaleb's departure from OpenCoin/Ripple Labs occurred during this transition period in mid-2013. Strategic disagreements between McCaleb and Larsen about the company's direction led to McCaleb's exit. While McCaleb favored a more decentralized, community-driven approach, Larsen pursued enterprise partnerships and centralized business development. McCaleb's departure was significant but didn't derail the company's trajectory, as Larsen and Schwartz continued leading business and technical operations respectively.
The OpenCoin name now represents a brief but foundational period in Ripple's history. During this year, the company established its basic structure, strategy, and culture. The vision of connecting different payment systems through open protocols remained consistent even as the branding evolved. OpenCoin laid the groundwork for what Ripple would become - a global payments company leveraging blockchain technology to serve financial institutions.
For XRP's history, the OpenCoin period is significant because it established the relationship between the cryptocurrency and the commercial company. Unlike Bitcoin, which emerged from a pseudonymous creator and became truly community-governed, or Ethereum, which had a foundation model with decentralized development, XRP had a for-profit company holding most of the supply. This corporate-cryptocurrency relationship, established during the OpenCoin founding, has defined XRP's trajectory and generated both benefits (sustained development and partnerships) and challenges (centralization concerns and regulatory scrutiny).