ChainCatcher reported that according to Cointelegraph, rumors began to circulate on social media that Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently met with President-elect Trump, and the company and Garlinghouse are facing criticism from industry executives. In response to these rumors, former Messari CEO and founder Ryan Selkis commented: "Brad Garlinghouse is vigorously promoting the deployment of XRP and CBDC." Pierre Rochard, vice president of research at Riot Platforms, forwarded Selkis' comments.
Rochard agreed with Selkis, writing that “we cannot allow Ripple to influence the U.S. policymaking process with their anti-Bitcoin agenda” and hopes Trump will appoint more Bitcoin supporters to his administration. Garlinghouse’s meeting with Trump is rumored to be one of the catalysts for the recent rally in XRP.
In a recent appearance on Fox Business, Garlingouse neither confirmed nor denied the rumored meeting with Trump. However, he expressed confidence in the future of the crypto industry under the Trump administration. He also said that he was not surprised by the positive reaction of the crypto market after Trump's victory on November 5. Garlinghouse pointed out that the hostility of the US SEC Chairman Gary Gensler towards the industry is the main driving force behind the suppression of US crypto projects.
