Ripple CEO regrets not ‘leaning in’ to introducing crypto earlier amidst SEC case

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse admitted that he regrets not communicating with US regulators about crypto trading sooner, as XRP is currently in the middle of a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a conversation with CNBC at DC Fintech Week on October 24, Ripple(XRP) Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse explained that he has “taken more trips to DC in the last few years than ever before.” This is largely due to the ongoing legal case between XRP and the SEC.

Regarding the case, Garlinghouse said he wished his team had taken the time to contact U.S. regulators sooner and avoided the situation altogether.

“Looking back, I regret it. I think we made a mistake by not leaning in sooner. And we’re trying to make up for lost time to some extent,” Garlinghouse said.

Earlier this year, the SEC won a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, accusing the tech company of orchestrating the unfair sale of $1.3 billion worth of XRP tokens because the token was classified as an unregistered security.

The SEC also claimed that XRP creates certain profit expectations for investors. Ripple is preparing to file its own cross-appeal to challenge the ruling on institutional sales, with both sides bracing for a lengthy process that could potentially change the crypto landscape in the US.

Garlinghouse said he thinks the U.S. is still behind other countries when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption and regulation.

He stated that he has been in talks with regulators and central banks of countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, which he considers to be ahead of others when it comes to crypto regulations compared to the United States.

Overall, he blamed misinformation for the slow US adoption of crypto, particularly due to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s hostile stance towards the crypto industry. Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC has filed lawsuits against numerous crypto companies and executives, including lawsuits against the Coinbase platform and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

“The United States is falling behind, and for reasons that don’t make much sense. I think we’re going back to that kind of misinformation, I think Gensler’s reign of terror is mixed in with Elizabeth Warren spreading misinformation saying crypto is the bogeyman, and that’s not the case,” Garlinghouse said.

According to Chainalytics’ 2024 global crypto adoption index report, the United States ranks fourth after Indonesia, Nigeria and India in the overall index ranking.

“Crypto activity has increased in countries across all income groups since the beginning of 2024, with declines in high-income countries,” Chainalytics said in its report.