Ripple Labs and CEO Brad Garlinghouse are facing criticism from industry executives after rumors that the CEO recently met with President-elect Trump began circulating on social media.
In response to the rumors, former Messari CEO and founder Ryan Selkis remarked: “Brad Garlinghouse is shilling XRP (XRP) and CBDC implementations.” Selkis’ comments were reposted by the vice president of research at Riot Platforms, Pierre Rochard.
Rochard agreed with Selkis and wrote “We can’t let Ripple co-opt the United States policymaking process with their anti-bitcoin agenda,” and hoped that the President-elect would appoint more Bitcoiners to his administration.
The rumored meeting between the Ripple CEO and Trump is believed to be one of the catalysts behind the recent XRP rally, which saw the price of Ripple’s native currency surge by double-digits.
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Garlinghouse is optimistic about the future under Trump
During a recent appearance on Fox Business, Garlingouse would neither confirm nor deny the rumored meeting with Trump. However, the CEO expressed confidence in the crypto industry’s future under the Trump administration:
“The crypto industry has embraced Trump; Trump has embraced the crypto industry. I think it’s very genuine, and I think he sees the opportunity, he sees innovation, he sees entrepreneurship — I am very excited about what the future holds.”
The Ripple Labs CEO also said he was not surprised that crypto markets responded positively after the Trump victory on November 5. Garlinghouse cited Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler’s hostility toward the industry as the main driver behind the suppression of crypto projects based in the United States.
President-elect Trump promised to fire Gary Gensler on his first day in office — which drew widespread support from the crypto industry and investors.
Following Trump’s reelection, 18 US states filed a lawsuit against Gensler, including Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Montana and others. The lawsuit accused Gensler of violating state rights through “gross government overreach” against the crypto industry.
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