How 'World's Smartest Man' Claims Keep Fueling XRP Controversy

The debate surrounding YoungHoon Kim’s extraordinary IQ assertion has resurfaced once again, this time entangled with his aggressive promotion of XRP. The South Korean personality, who claims to possess the highest IQ ever recorded, has been leveraging his controversial reputation to amplify engagement around the Ripple-linked token, recently calling it a “digital God.”

The IQ Claim Under Scrutiny

Kim’s assertion of a 276 IQ score faces substantial scientific pushback. Standard IQ tests used by recognized organizations like Mensa typically cap out around 160, making higher scores impossible to validate through established psychological methods. On a standard deviation scale of 15—the metric employed by most psychologists and Mensa internationally—an IQ of 195 would represent a statistical rarity of approximately 1 in 8 billion individuals.

The mathematical reality is sobering: validating such a score would require a norming group larger than the total population of humans who have ever lived. The Giga Society, originally established by Paul Cooijmans to recognize individuals with 1-in-a-billion level intelligence, has witnessed its legitimacy questioned. Kim allegedly founded a competing organization called “Giga Society Professional,” which Cooijmans publicly labeled as “fraudulent.” Former leadership at Mensa Korea also disputed the uniqueness of Kim’s claimed scores within their organization.

Social Media Engagement vs. Credibility

Kim’s trajectory reveals a telling pattern: initially positioned as a Bitcoin maximalist during earlier public appearances, his recent pivot toward XRP promotion appears calculated for maximum engagement. By December 14, he was predicting the token would reach $100. Now, with XRP trading at $2.06 (down 2.41% in 24 hours), the disconnect between prediction and market reality becomes apparent.

Community observers note that the relentless promotion strategy resembles what some call “engagement theology”—leveraging a large, passionate community to generate interaction metrics regardless of content substance. The exhaustion from constant shilling is becoming visible, even among typically loyal XRP supporters who recognize the pattern as increasingly transparent.

This phenomenon illustrates a broader trend: how influential figures weaponize dubious credentials to build followings, then convert that attention into market positioning within cryptocurrency communities.