Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 4, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been skeptical of crypto regulation in the U.S., but he is feeling highly optimistic about the post-election environment around the corner.
“This is the most important election we’ve had, but I also believe no matter what happens, we’re going to have a more pro-crypto, more pro-innovation Congress than we’ve ever had,” he said in a Wednesday conversation with CNBC at DC Fintech Week.
Ripple, a veteran company in crypto known in part for its close association with the XRP token, operates a global payments business with banks and financial institutions as its main customers. About 95% of its business takes place outside of the U.S., which Garlinghouse said is partly a reflection of the contentious environment in Washington.
In 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple, but last year the company scored a big victory for the industry when a judge determined that XRP is not a security when sold to retail investors on exchanges.
On Wednesday, Garlinghouse offered a piece of advice to fintech startups in this changing time: “Incorporate outside the United States.”
Nevertheless, he was upbeat about where the industry is heading in the long term.
“Anybody who doesn’t believe that no matter what, we’re going to end up in a better place, is not paying attention … and [if in] 10 years we look back on how the U.S. got it wrong for years and years. … It’s going to be a speed bump, and this industry is going to continue to thrive.”
An approaching ‘reset’
Ripple has donated at least $45 million to the Fairshake pro-crypto political action committee. Co-founder Chris Larsen recently donated $11 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. Garlinghouse pointed out he was intentionally wearing a purple tie on Wednesday.
“Obviously, Trump came out early and very aggressively in a pro crypto [way] and said he’s the crypto president,” Garlinghouse said. “Team Harris have been more nuanced. This week, they had some of the most constructive things they have said publicly.”
“Kamala Harris is from Silicon Valley, she has generally been pro technology over the years,” he added. “She has been relatively quiet on the topic, but I think no matter what happens, we’re going to see a reset.”
Because of that contrast, sentiment in the crypto industry has grown increasingly partisan — even as it has previously applauded growing bipartisan support for crypto issues in Congress. Many pro-crypto voters fear that the Harris campaign would continue the “attack” on crypto, as Garlinghouse called it.
“No matter what happens, we’re going to leave behind a failed approach from the Biden administration,” he said. “It has been an attack, and it isn’t just the SEC. The [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] is hostile towards crypto; the Treasury is hostile towards crypto.”
He highlighted banks becoming unwilling to work with crypto businesses in what many in the industry have referred to as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” The term refers to an Obama-era project known as “Operation Choke Point,” which discouraged banks from serving risky but legal enterprises, such as payday lenders and online gambling businesses.
“That is a hostile administration, and no matter what happens in this next election, we will have a reset,” Garlinghouse said. “We can debate the magnitude of that reset, and there’s lots of disagreement about that. … We’re going to see forward progress, and I certainly am looking forward to that.”
Though Garlinghouse hasn’t publicly backed any of the presidential candidates, he said that this week he endorsed John Deaton, an attorney seeking to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Warren has been critical of the crypto industry, seeking additional oversight of the space.