Ripple CEO Champions U.S. as Blockchain Hub Amid Legal Challenges

• Ripple CEO wants the U.S. to be a financial center of next-gen technology.
• Garlinghouse decried the crypto pushback happening in the U.S.
• Ripple has been charged for “misleading statements” made by its CEO, Garlinghouse.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse reiterated his vision for the U.S. to become a global leader in blockchain and cryptocurrency, despite ongoing regulatory challenges and a new lawsuit against the company. 

A staunch Ripple supporter, JackTheRippler shared on X, an excerpt from Garlinghouse’s CNBC interview, in which the CEO lamented the kind of pushback the cryptocurrency industry faces from the U.S. government. Garlinghouse stated that the industry is “behind in Washington” and has been forced into a defensive position.

Garlinghouse attributed some of the cryptocurrency industry’s challenges in the U.S. to a lack of understanding among policymakers, while suggesting that some government officials may be intentionally opposing the industry.

Meanwhile, Ripple faces a new lawsuit alleging “misleading statements” made by Garlinghouse in a 2017 interview. A California high court judge allowed the case to proceed, calling for a jury trial rather than a summary judgment.

The lawsuit centers on Garlinghouse’s statement to reporters from Canada’s BNN Bloomberg in 2017, in which he claimed to be “very, very long” on XRP, Ripple’s native token, while allegedly selling millions of XRP that same year.

Ripple’s ongoing case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains unresolved. The SEC alleges that XRP is a security, leading to one of the most protracted legal battles in the crypto industry.

The fintech company secured a partial victory over the SEC last July when a New York federal court ruled that the sale of XRP on exchanges and through algorithms did not constitute a violation of U.S. securities law.