A Stanford University student has highlighted a possible conflict of interest, alleging that Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Dr. Susan Athey may have used her position at the university to plug the Ripple protocol and associated cryptocurrency (XRP) - while also sitting on Ripple Labs’ Board of Directors since 2014.
Bitcoin Bashing
The claim is a complex one and needs unpacking. The student, Conner Brown, came out publically about a week ago with his claims that Athey inaccurately described the Bitcoin protocol and network, and based on that inaccurate description made unfounded criticisms of Bitcoin during a lecture. The lecture seems to have taken place more than a month ago, according to Brown's comments. Brown, who has written an open letter to Stanford regarding the incident, outlined arguments against what he sees as false claims. To wit, he says Brown inaccurately described Bitcoin’s consensus protocol; overstated the problem of Bitcoin mining centralization; overstated the threat of a 51% attack on the Bitcoin network; and overstated the Bitcoin network’s environmental impact. The upshot of Brown’s criticisms, however, are not just that Bitcoin was misrepresented in the lecture hall of an elite US university - but that Ripple was presented to students as a solution to Bitcoin’s (misrepresented and poorly framed) problems.
Takeaways
It seems clear enough that a portion of Dr. Athey’s lecture was indeed dedicated to plugging Ripple and its xRapid technology. Athey seems to excuse this behavior as legitimate, citing her large and obvious disclaimer at the beginning of her lecture that she was affiliated with the blockchain company. Whether or not her choice of forum for this purpose was in fact legitimate, is open to debate and opinion. And although Athey’s class slides do not unduly defame Bitcoin and its tech, if Brown is to be believed about the verbal statements made during the lecture, Athey’s criticisms of Bitcoin do seem specious and half-baked.
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