Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot XRP ETFs next year, reiterating that they are inevitable. The executive discussed cryptocurrency regulations in the U.S., highlighting the SEC’s shift towards pragmatism after losing court battles.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse addressed the topic of cryptocurrency regulations in the U.S. and the possibility of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving additional crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) beyond bitcoin and ether in an interview with Fox Business this week.
Commenting on why the SEC has become more pragmatic with the approval of the 19b-4 forms for eight spot ethereum ETFs, Garlinghouse stated: “The first thing is they’ve lost a lot in court, and they really got dragged kicking and screaming across the line to get the bitcoin ETF live. They realized that if they were going to drag their feet and fight around the ETH ETF, likely the same outcome was going to happen.”
The Ripple executive opined: “It’s frustrating that we have to go through the courts to get these positive outcomes. The United States should be investing in these technologies. We should be embracing these … Unfortunately, this SEC has been fighting it every step of the way.” He emphasized:
The United States remains the largest economy in the world and it has been backwards in its approach to cryptocurrencies. Countries like the UK are way ahead — Japan, Singapore, Switzerland. We are really behind the rest of the world.
Ripple recently donated $25 million to Fairshake Super Political Action Committee (PAC) after donating the same amount previously. Crypto exchange Coinbase and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) also contributed $25 million each to Fairshake to support crypto-friendly candidates in an effort to shape crypto regulations in the U.S.
Garlinghouse asserts that the SEC will inevitably approve XRP ETFs. At the Consensus 2024 conference, he stated that it is only a matter of time before the securities regulator approves other crypto ETFs, including those for XRP, solana, and cardano.
When questioned about whether the SEC might refuse to approve XRP ETFs due to its ongoing court case against Ripple over the sale of XRP, Garlinghouse emphasized: “I think it’s a hard argument for him to win. Can they make life difficult? They’ve made life difficult for a lot of people, and they’ve lost in court.”
Reiterating his point made at the Consensus conference, Garlinghouse explained that “people don’t want just exposure to one commodity.” He opined: “If you have exposure to gold, you might want exposure to silver … or other commodities … To me, it only makes sense. You don’t want to have just a single-threaded asset exposure.” When asked when he thinks there will be an XRP ETF, Garlinghouse said:
I think we are going to see it. It’ll probably be 2025.