In an interview with Bloomberg, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse discussed the conclusion of Ripple’s lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in addition to the corporate’s strategic outlook. Garlinghouse touched on every little thing from a possible IPO to the potential of XRP playing a task in the brand new US Crypto Stockpile.
Ripple Vs. SEC Case Conclusion
Garlinghouse described the legal battle with the SEC, originally launched in December 2020, as having effectively ended. In keeping with him, the SEC has agreed to drop its appeal against the sooner court decision ruling that “XRP in and of itself was not a security.”
“We won on the important thing parts of the case in the summertime of ’23. Judge Torres made a ruling that XRP in and of itself was not a security. The SEC filed an appeal about eight months ago, and what they’ve now agreed is that they’re going to drop that appeal.”
Although Ripple still has a cross-appeal in place, Garlinghouse indicated that, going forward, the corporate has much more control over its legal strategy. He noted that what stays under discussion is whether or not Ripple continues to pursue the return of a major escrowed amount—$125 million—which pertains to a penalty the court had imposed for sales of XRP to certain institutional investors: “There was a $125 million tremendous that’s sitting in escrow. We wouldn’t mind having that back. That’s on the table.”
Garlinghouse stressed that Ripple’s stance stems from the proven fact that “no investors lost any money” in reference to the disputed XRP sales. He criticized former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s approach to crypto oversight, calling it “an influence grab” meant to expand the SEC’s reach.
US Crypto Stockpile And Spot XRP ETFs
Garlinghouse also indicated that XRP could feature in a recent federal initiative. While acknowledging that the Trump administration’s executive order, establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a separate Crypto Stockpile, didn’t explicitly name XRP, the Ripple chief believes XRP is a natural fit.
“My understanding is there’s going to be a Bitcoin strategic reserve. There’ll be a crypto stockpile representing other cryptos, and I’d expect that may include XRP. […] My understanding is that the stockpile can be represented by seized other cryptos aside from Bitcoin. That then shall be in that stockpile. So to the extent that various law enforcement agencies have seized cryptos, which would come with XRP, that those would go into the stockpile along with the Bitcoin strategic reserve,” Garlinghouse remarked.
Garlinghouse also sounded optimistic in regards to the prospects for spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Multiple proposals are on the SEC’s desk from well-known asset managers: “There are 11 different filings pending with the SEC to launch ETFs, from everybody from Bitwise to Franklin Templeton and a complete bunch of individuals in between. I feel those shall be live within the second half of this 12 months.”
Furthermore, he highlighted that although some crypto-linked products have seen outflows, inflows to XRP-based products proceed. This, he said, reflects the “false negative pressure” that dogged XRP throughout the SEC case.
IPO Or Acquisitions?
Speculation about Ripple going public has circled for years. With regulatory clarity improving, Garlinghouse acknowledged the potential of an initial public offering (IPO), though he made it clear that this will not be the corporate’s top priority. “It isn’t an enormous priority. Most corporations go public because raising capital is high on their radar. Now we have been in a really fortunate position to have the opportunity to grow the business organically.”
As an alternative, he pointed to acquisitions as a more immediate focus for Ripple. Garlinghouse sees industry-wide “consolidation” this 12 months, especially because the US crypto market transitions from regulatory headwinds to potential tailwinds: “We are going to take a look at other things which can be blockchain infrastructure corporations. I feel there shall be consolidation this 12 months. There’s lots of excitement about a number of the changes, and we are going to lean into that of course.”
Turning to stablecoins—an area gaining bipartisan support in Washington—Garlinghouse said Ripple is placing significant weight on its own stablecoin, RLUSD, which launched late last 12 months. The stablecoin currently sits around $230 billion in total stablecoin supply, but many analysts predict it could grow tenfold over the following five years.
“Ripple launched its own stablecoin at the tip of last 12 months. That’s already ahead of our own internal forecasts… The goal is by the tip of the 12 months for RLUSD […] to be one among the highest five out there.”
He noted increased activity in stablecoin use cases, reminiscent of Robinhood’s movement toward 24-hour trading. With stablecoin laws already advancing through Congress, Garlinghouse expects the complete market to “grow dramatically this 12 months.”
At press time, XRP traded at $2.44.
Featured image from YouTube, chart from tradingView.com
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