Prominent crypto commentator Panos has voiced sharp criticism of Western Union’s planned USD-backed stablecoin launch on the Solana blockchain, calling the move a step backward for decentralized finance.
His comments came after Solana’s official account took a jab at XRP’s bridge asset narrative, declaring, "There is no bridge currency. There are stablecoins on Solana."
In response, Panos dismissed the announcement as an example of “centralized predation repackaged as innovation,” arguing that the future of finance lies in fully decentralized, interoperable systems, not legacy corporations adopting blockchain as a superficial upgrade.
“Western Union is a centralized predator that is slowly dying,” Panos stated, emphasizing that the company’s history of high fees and friction-filled transfers contradicts the ethos of Web3.
Critique of “Old-World” Financial Infrastructure
According to Panos, the cryptocurrency community spent over a decade developing on-chain financial infrastructure designed to eliminate the need for middlemen, not empower them again under a new label.
Who is celebrating this? Western Union is a centralized predator that is slowly dying, a dinosaur that built its empire on friction and exorbitant fees, and we didn’t spend a decade building onchain financial infrastructure just to hand the keys back to them. Where we are going… https://t.co/0TPsDvN46V
— Panos 🔼🇬🇷 (@panosmek) October 29, 2025
He warned that reintegrating legacy players like Western Union into the digital asset ecosystem risks replicating the same inefficiencies and control structures that decentralized finance aims to dismantle.
“The goal is not to digitize the old model,” he argued, “but to replace it entirely with open systems that prioritize transparency, accessibility, and permissionless liquidity.”
XRP as the Original Bridge Asset
Panos also reaffirmed XRP’s central role in on-chain liquidity and cross-asset settlement. Unlike stablecoins, which are pegged to fiat and rely on custodial backing, XRP’s design allows it to function as a native bridge currency through its built-in decentralized exchange (DEX).
He described XRP as “the OG chain built for on-chain finance”, highlighting how its automated market-making and bridging functions allow instant liquidity movement across currencies and assets without centralized oversight.
Rejecting Compromise and Centralized Influence
Panos concluded by calling for the crypto industry to “stop compromising with the past”, urging developers and investors to focus on building self-sufficient ecosystems that remove dependence on traditional financial institutions.
His statement resonated strongly with the XRP community, many of whom view Ripple’s infrastructure and the XRP Ledger as the foundation for decentralized global settlement, in stark contrast to Solana’s stablecoin partnership with Western Union.
Philosophical Divide in Crypto
Panos’s remarks underscore a philosophical divide within the crypto space, between those welcoming traditional finance’s entrance into blockchain and those, like him, who believe true innovation demands breaking free from the systems that blockchain was built to replace.