## The Legacy of Jed McCaleb: How Two Blockchain Projects Complement a Global Payments Vision

When Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple, left the company in 2014 to create Stellar, many in the ecosystem interpreted this as a break. However, a deeper analysis of the timelines, strategic partnerships, and objectives of both platforms suggests a different narrative: two solutions designed to work in harmony.

## The Strategic Pivot of 2014

Jed McCaleb was instrumental in the initial architecture of XRP, significantly contributing to the consensus protocol and Ripple's operational framework. His departure in 2014 coincided with a crucial moment: Ripple was consolidating its position in the institutional financial sector, and international organizations like the IMF, BPI, and WEF were beginning to seriously debate the modernization of global payment systems. This timing does not seem accidental.

While Ripple focused on capturing large financial institutions and central banks, Jed McCaleb directed his attention toward Stellar, creating a project with a completely different value proposition. This bifurcation, far from being a confrontation, represented a strategy of bilateral coverage.

## XRP and XLM: Two Sides of the Same Coin

XRP, led by Ripple, specializes in institutional use cases: reserve liquidity for cross-border transfers, support for digital currencies of central banks (CBDCs), and solutions for correspondent banking. Its partnerships include institutions like Bank of America and SBI, consolidating its presence in the traditional financial system.

Stellar, on the other hand, adopts a complementary approach. XLM positions itself as a tool for financial inclusion, collaborating with organizations like the United Nations on blockchain-based aid initiatives and with asset managers like Franklin Templeton for securities tokenization. While Ripple builds the rails of the global infrastructure, Stellar democratizes access to that technology.

## The Unfolding Plan

The most convincing hypothesis is that both projects function as components of a broader ecosystem. Ripple handles high-volume and institutionally significant payments, supported by regulations and partnerships with the global banking sector. Stellar absorbs demand from the lower layers of the global economy, providing access to blockchain technology without requiring traditional banking intermediaries.

This division of labor was prescient. As the global debate on CBDCs and payment modernization intensified (a central theme on the agendas of the WEF and international financial organizations), both projects were already positioned to capture different segments of the blockchain payment solutions market.

Jed McCaleb did not abandon a vision; he expanded it. Ripple's departure was not a failure but a strategic redesign.

[#XRP](/es/square/hashtag/XRP) [#Stellar](/es/square/hashtag/Stellar) [#CBDC](/es/square/hashtag/CBDC) [#Blockchain](/es/square/hashtag/Blockchain)