Ava Labs CEO Says Banks Love Ripple Before April Fools Reversal Backs Avalanche

TLDR

Table of Contents

Sirer wrote “Banks are choosing Ripple,” then added, “April Fools, obviously. They actually use Avalanche.”
The X post drew more than 50,000 views and 585 likes, according to the source report.
Ripple says it connects more than 300 financial institutions for cross-border payments and liquidity.
Avalanche says its network supports over 4,500 transactions per second with sub-second finality.
In Q1 2026, XRP fell about 27% and AVAX fell about 25%, according to the source report.

Ava Labs CEO Emin Gun Sirer used April Fools’ Day to tease Ripple in a brief post on X. He said banks were choosing Ripple, but then reversed the claim and named Avalanche. The exchange spread quickly across crypto social media.

The message drew replies from Ripple supporters and Avalanche users across social media. It also appeared during a weak quarter for digital assets, with XRP and AVAX both down. The mix kept the post in circulation as users debated both networks.

April Fools post draws fast reaction

Sirer wrote, “Banks are choosing Ripple.” He then added, “April Fools, obviously. They actually use Avalanche.” The post was published on April 1 and spread quickly through crypto circles. The source report said it drew more than 50,000 views and 585 likes.

Banks are choosing Ripple.
April Fools, obviously. They actually use Avalanche.
— Emin Gün Sirer🔺⚔️ (@el33th4xor) April 1, 2026

Ripple supporters pushed back and said Ripple remained central to banking activity. One reply said, “Ripple is at the center of the entire banking system.” Other users answered with memes and joke images. Sirer has also criticized Ripple in earlier posts over several years.

Two firms pitch different services

Ripple has built its business around cross-border settlement and liquidity services. The company says it connects more than 300 financial institutions worldwide. As of March 2026, the source report valued Ripple at about $50 billion. Its listed partners include SBI Holdings, BNY Mellon, Santander, PNC Bank, and CIBC.

Avalanche, developed by Ava Labs, focuses on tokenization, decentralized finance, and custom subnet networks. Ava Labs says the chain supports more than 4,500 transactions each second with sub-second finality.

I understand how excited the markets are about XRP getting its first stablecoin. Yay for Ripple, please head this way to collect their participation trophy. Now for those of us who support a real DeFi ecosystem and have *multiple* stablecoins on chain, the real game is all about… https://t.co/Tqji6Mv1zh
— Emin Gün Sirer🔺⚔️ (@el33th4xor) December 2, 2024

The source report said Avalanche’s real-world asset value locked passed $2 billion after 2025 growth. Both firms also joined Mastercard’s Crypto Partner Program for payment, payout, and settlement use cases.

Token prices stay under pressure

The joke arrived as digital assets extended a broader market decline. CoinGecko data in the source report showed XRP down about 27% in the first quarter.

At press time, XRP traded near $1.35 and sat about 63% below its July peak. The decline left Ripple’s token far below the level seen last summer.

AVAX also fell about 25% in the first quarter and traded just above $9. That left the token about 94% below its prior bull market high. Ava Labs was valued at about $5.25 billion in the source report. The April Fools exchange ended quickly, but price weakness remained for both communities.