Arthur Hayes: I'll Believe in XRP's Use at Scale When I See On-Chain Evidence

Gate News message, April 21 — Arthur Hayes recently stated he will only believe Ripple supporters' claims about XRP being used as cross-border settlement infrastructure when he sees on-chain evidence of institutions deploying it at scale. Speaking to Coinpedia, Hayes applied the same evidentiary standard to reports of Iran using Bitcoin to collect tolls on oil tankers, saying: "I'll believe Iran is charging a toll in Bitcoin when I see a transaction linked to a vessel's toll payment."

According to Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union, the toll system requires tankers to email Iranian authorities with cargo details in advance. Once cleared, a toll of $1 per barrel is assessed, with empty tankers allowed free passage. Payments must be made within seconds using Bitcoin, chosen to avoid tracking or confiscation under international sanctions.

The toll system is designed to function independently of traditional financial infrastructure. Jim Rickards, who helped construct the petrodollar system in the 1970s, recently cited Ripple alongside Bitcoin and Tether as plausible currencies for Iran's reported Strait of Hormuz toll collections, underscoring the broader narrative of a parallel financial system emerging in crypto markets.