Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, recently expressed regret for not engaging with U.S. regulators earlier in the development of cryptocurrency trading.
In a conversation with CNBC at DC Fintech Week on October 24, Garlinghouse noted that he has “made far more trips to DC in the past few years” than ever before, largely due to the ongoing legal battle between XRP and the SEC. Regarding the case, Garlinghouse stated that he wishes his team had engaged with U.S. regulators earlier to avoid the current situation altogether.
“I look back on that, and I regret that. I think we made a mistake by not leaning in earlier. And we’re trying to make up for lost time to some degree,”
Garlinghouse stated.
Garlinghouse also criticized the slow pace of cryptocurrency adoption in the U.S., attributing it to a mix of regulatory hurdles and misinformation. He pointed out that other countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Brazil are taking the lead in crypto regulation while the U.S. lags behind.
A key target of Garlinghouse’s criticism was SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, whom he accused of spreading misinformation about crypto and taking an adversarial approach. He also mentioned Senator Elizabeth Warren, suggesting that her stance on crypto as a “bogeyman” is misleading.
“The U.S. is a laggard for reasons that don’t really make sense. I think it comes down to the misinformation surrounding this issue,”
Garlinghouse argued, pointing to regulatory confusion as a major obstacle to progress.
His comments come as Ripple’s native token, XRP, continues to be the subject of an ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
RELATED: Ripple’s Latest XRP Moves Raise Questions Amid SEC Lawsuit
The CEO had expressed frustration earlier in the month with the SEC’s appeal regarding the July 13 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres, which found that Ripple’s retail sales of XRP were not in violation of securities laws, a victory for Ripple. However, the court deemed institutional sales of XRP to be securities violations, initially resulting in a $1.95 billion penalty, which was later reduced to $125 million.
Garlinghouse labelled the SEC’s appeal of this decision as “misguided and infuriating,” insisting that the case should already be considered a significant win for Ripple and the wider crypto industry.
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