Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of US fintech company Ripple, predicts that the crypto industry will face a reboot, regardless of who wins the 2024 US presidential election - whether it is Republican candidate Donald Trump or current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Garlinghouse spoke at the 8th annual Fintech Week in Washington, D.C., where he openly criticized the Biden administration for its efforts to crack down on the digital asset industry, calling its approach “hostile” to crypto firms. He believes the sector is on the verge of a “reset,” regardless of whether Bitcoin-friendly Trump or Harris, who has been more reserved on the issue despite her Silicon Valley ties, wins in November.
"I think no matter what happens, we're going to see a reset, we're going to see progress, and I'm certainly looking forward to that."
The Ripple CEO noted that while Trump has been supportive of Bitcoin and other digital assets and even issued his own non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Harris has been more reserved on these issues, despite being from a tech-oriented region.
Garlinghouse also discussed the possibility of improving the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies after the 2024 elections, but advised companies to consider moving operations overseas due to regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. and the ongoing issue of crypto investors being debanked.
He said Citigroup, his bank for 25 years, cut ties with him over his involvement in the crypto space. Garlinghouse explained that traditional financial institutions are distancing themselves from digital assets due to pressure from regulators, especially the SEC.
Ripple is currently seeking approval for a spot XRP ETF. According to Garlinghouse, there is a good chance the SEC will approve the investment product soon.
The XRP ETF will allow everyday investors to gain exposure to XRP, the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5301 and is down 0.22% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
