Put Crypto Regulation in the Proper Perspective: Ripple CEO

• Brad Garlinghouse said the crypto industry is performing well despite recent challenges.
• The Ripple CEO asked for a proper distinction between crypto problems and fraud.
• Garlinghouse praised the UAE for a leading role in crypto regulatory advancement.

The Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse has called for crypto regulation to be in the proper perspective. He said this across multiple interviews at the 2023 World Economic Conference, Davos 2023.

In a Twitter thread, acclaimed XRP/Ripple tracker, with the handle @WKahneman collated a series of developments around the conference where he featured Garlinhouse’s remarks.

His tweets included interviews and panel sessions involving the Ripple CEO, among other experts. Discussion at the event bordered on some of the recent challenges the crypto industry faced and regulatory developments.

In one of the interviews, Garlinghouse mentioned that despite the recent challenges, several other crypto projects are performing excellently. According to him, the focus should be on performing companies, like Ripple having a record in 2022.

Garlinghouse asked for a proper distinction between crypto problems and fraud. In his example, the FTX debacle has been labeled the wrong way. It should be treated as the fraud that it is. He likened it to the case of Benni Madoff that was put in the proper perspective rather than targeting hedge funds. He called for the pursuit of regulatory clarity as a way to solve the current challenges in crypto.

In regulation, Garlinghouse acknowledged Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, Japan, and Singapore as leaders. For the U.S., instead of providing clarity, he believes that it has added confusion to the crypto market. He noted that outside the U.S., crypto has continued to thrive, and people need to know that.

Garlinghouse described Ripple’s experience as an intersection between the traditionally regulated and less traditionally regulated financial institutions as “exciting”. According to him, he feels obligated to advocate for new technologies that can better economic values.

He also praised the UAE for its regulatory advancements in crypto, even though Ripple is yet to acquire a license in the gulf country. He summarized UAE’s efforts as a codification of what the regulations are. Garlinghouse noted that most players in the crypto industry want to be good actors, far from how they are made to look. He emphasized that the focus should be on regulating “activities”, rather than crypto.