Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse posted a photo on X revealing that he recently met with US President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The photo also revealed that Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty was with Garlinghouse.
President-elect Donald Trump met with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on January 8. The two were also joined by Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty.
Ripple executives meet with US President-elect Donald Trump
According to a photo shared by Brad Garlinghouse on X, Stuart Alderoty and Garlinghouse had dinner with Donald Trump. Garlinghouse used the caption, “Off to a strong start for 2025!” While it’s clear that the three met, the details of the meeting remain unclear, but it may have leaned more towards crypto law.
The meeting comes at a crucial time for Ripple, ahead of a crucial deadline in the case between US regulators and the blockchain company specializing in cross-border payments.
Garlinghouse recently expressed optimism about Trump's future impact on the crypto industry. On January 5, the CEO emphasized on X that Trump's bull market is real. Garlinghouse said Trump's impact on the crypto industry is personal for Ripple. He cited Ripple's years-long battle with the U.S. financial regulator (US SEC) under Gary Gensler.
According to the X post, Garlinghouse explained that Gensler’s SEC effectively froze business opportunities for Ripple in the United States. He also emphasized that the optimism behind Trump’s involvement in the digital asset scene is “clear and deserved.”
Garlinhouse also explained that 75% of Ripple's hiring positions are coming from the United States, compared to four years ago when the majority of Ripple's hires were coming from outside the United States. Garlinghouse also detailed that Ripple has attracted more U.S.-based contracts since Trump won the election than it did six months prior.
Garlinghouse said Trump and his incoming administration, which includes crypto-oriented appointees Scott Bessent, David Sacks and Paul Atkins, have been driving innovation and job growth in the United States even though he has not yet been sworn in. Garlinghouse also expressed his belief that the “Trump effect” is making crypto great again.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Brad Garlinghouse said Trump has embraced crypto and crypto has embraced Donald Trump. Ripple’s XRP is down 3.19% over the past 24 hours, bringing its seven-day gain to 10.58%, according to cryptocurrency data aggregator CoinMarketCap. The digital asset boasts a 24-hour trading volume of $8.2 billion and a market capitalization of $133.4 billion at the time of this publication.
Trump Meets with Cryptocurrency Exchange CEOs Brian Armstrong and Kris Marszalek
The Trump-Garlinghouse-Alderoty dinner is Trump’s latest meeting with leading crypto figures since his re-election on Nov. 5. On Nov. 19, Trump’s newfound influence in the crypto industry led to a call between the president-elect and Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong.
Sources close to the meeting revealed that Armstrong and Trump primarily mentioned cryptocurrency appointments, although the two did not discuss specific individuals and appointments.
During his campaign, Armstrong and his company donated nearly $50 million to support pro-cryptocurrency candidates, including the president-elect, who has called cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin a scam. On November 18, The Wall Street Journal reported that Armstrong and Trump would meet privately, but no further reports have emerged to confirm whether the meeting took place.
On December 17, Trump also met with Kris Marszalek, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, at his Florida golf course. According to an anonymous source familiar with the meeting, the two discussed cryptocurrency-related appointments and Trump's plan to make Bitcoin a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. Treasury.
In October, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after receiving a notice from Wells indicating that the regulator intended to take enforcement action against the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. However, the exchange voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit, citing a desire to cooperate with the new Trump administration.
DYOR! #Write2Earn #Write&Earn $XRP