Crypto educator and YouTuber Jason Friedman, known online as @AChainOfBlocks, joined host Tanya on the Holdfm Podcast to share his views on XRP’s passionate following, the long road toward decentralization, and how everyday investors can approach volatile markets without losing perspective.
How Jason entered the crypto space
Friedman described his background not in software or trading, but in payment processing. Around 2016–2017, he worked for a U.S. company handling Visa and Mastercard transactions for merchants. High fees charged to businesses sparked an interest in new technologies.
“I realized blockchain basically does the same thing for a fraction of the cost,” Friedman said. “Merchants were paying 3–4% fees, and if your profit margins are only 10%, that’s brutal. Blockchain made me think, ‘This might actually put my employer out of business.’”
Like many early adopters, he looked to explain what he was learning. Friedman began with a small blog but found little traction. Inspired by YouTube finance creators, he tried video instead. His channel gained a following by explaining technical topics in plain English, drawing in users when the crypto community was hungry for education. As the space shifted from technical innovation to yield chasing, his content evolved with it.
“Over time, I leaned into DeFi, altcoin news, and market humor,” he said. “Every bull run changes what people want, so my channel adapts with them.”
Why XRP attracts loyalty and controversy
When asked why XRP has built almost a “sport‑like” tribal following, Friedman identified several factors: longevity, clear use cases, and spectacular rallies.
- Ripple’s institutional partnerships created mainstream credibility.
- Charismatic leaders like CTO David Schwartz cultivated trust within the community.
- Early price surges — from $0.02 in 2017 to $3 — demonstrated outsized potential.
“People also love cheap tokens,” he explained. “Even though the math is the same — $1,000 in XRP and $1,000 in Bitcoin both move together by percentage gains — the optics of holding thousands of coins instead of a fraction of Bitcoin is very appealing.”
That psychology, along with active marketing and a vocal online “XRP Army,” continues to make the token central to his channel.
On Bitcoin, Ethereum, and “the next big thing”
Friedman was careful not to portray XRP as the only story in crypto. “The big three remain Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP,” he said, adding that projects like Solana or SUI occasionally have breakout moments, but longevity matters.
When asked about “the next Bitcoin,” Friedman stressed evaluating who is behind a project and whether its use case is truly necessary. He pointed to Polkadot’s parachain model as an example of genuine innovation.
“Bitcoin is slower growth now, but it’s steady,” he added. “For altcoins, it comes down to the team and the vision, not just hype.”
Passive income and cautious strategies
Much of Friedman’s current content focuses on what he calls “survivability” in crypto, ways of staying invested without unnecessary exposure to risk. He views staking on proof‑of‑stake projects as one of the safer strategies.
“Rewards are often modest, but if you stake directly from your own wallet and keep control of your keys, it reduces risk,” he said, noting that Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot offer single‑ and double‑digit yields.
By contrast, he warned that borrowing and lending in decentralized finance remains riskier. “I think borrowing against your assets will play a bigger role in the future,” Friedman said, but added that only the most secure and established platforms can be considered.
Host Tanya shared her own perspective: for beginners, simply holding Bitcoin securely over a long horizon is often the clearest entry point.
Weathering bull and bear markets
Discussion turned to surviving the typically violent boom‑and‑bust cycles. Friedman compared market downturns to sales.
“If I liked the project yesterday and today it’s cheaper, I usually buy more,” he said. “It’s like when shoes go from $200 to $100 — why wouldn’t you, if you already wanted them?”
He emphasized, however, that this mindset applies only over multi‑year horizons:
“If you’re looking at three to five years, you’ll see the bigger picture. If you obsess over daily moves, you’ll drive yourself crazy.”
What he’s watching next
Although his channel leans XRP‑heavy, Friedman said he is watching Ethereum scaling solutions and DeFi ecosystems carefully. Beyond finance, he believes projects branching into identity management, gaming, or data services could represent the next wave.
“Ethereum is the most established DeFi platform, but slow and expensive. That’s why I like teams like Polkadot — they’re experimenting with things beyond finance itself,” he said.
Why his story matters
Friedman’s journey illustrates how crypto content has evolved in less than a decade: from explaining the basics, to covering ICOs and DeFi booms, to now analyzing regulations, staking, and Layer‑2 ecosystems. His reflections highlight two enduring themes:
- Community loyalty, like that seen in XRP, continues to shape narratives.
- Long‑term outlooks and measured strategies remain some of the only consistent ways to endure the space.
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Tanya Petrusenko
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