Ripple CEO: “crypto regulation in the US is the most confusing”

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that crypto regulation in the US is one of the most confusing, to the point that Europe and other countries are attracting growth in the industry. 

Ripple CEO and confusing US crypto regulation: Europe is leading the industry

In an interview with CNBC, Brad Garlinghouse made statements about crypto regulation in the US, calling it “the most confusing possible.” 

Not only that, the Ripple CEO claims that Europe and other countries, such as UAE, Singapore and the UK, are attracting growth in the industry.

Basically, Garlinghouse criticizes the “confusing” US regulations on crypto, so much so that industry companies like Ripple itself are looking to hire and invest outside the country. 

This flight of crypto companies from US soil is making way for other countries with more progressive jurisdictions such as Europe, which is increasingly becoming the leader. 

In this regard, here are Garlinghouse’s words: 

“Europe really has provided leadership and countries like UAE … the growth you’re seeing … even the U.K. and Singapore — they’re providing the clarity about how they will regulate these digital assets.

And that allows through those rules of the road that allow entrepreneurs, investors to engage constructively with regulators. […] Frankly, it’s why you’re seeing entrepreneurship and investment flowing into other jurisdictions — and certainly Europe has been a significant beneficiary of the confusion that has existed in the U.S.”

The acquisition of Swiss startup Metaco

These statements by Ripple’s CEO come just after the US crypto company acquired a Swiss cryptocurrency startup, which will help it expand its operations abroad.

And indeed, Ripple has become the sole shareholder of the Swiss provider of digital asset custody and tokenization technologies, based precisely outside the US. 

With Metaco, Ripple is now expected to expand its product suite, while also finding itself in a regulatory environment that supports its development and expansion. 

Ripple experiences the confusion of crypto regulation in its never-ending lawsuit against the SEC

Garlinghouse has a good background in “crypto regulation” in the US, as Ripple itself is the subject of the never-ending lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC). 

In this regard, just in the last few days, it has been pointed out by attorney John Deaton how, from the SEC’s own internal emails, it appears that there are reasonable grounds to believe that XRP is not a security. 

Deaton famously commented on Twitter about the continuing episodes of the lawsuit, explaining how XRP could not be a security since it does not meet all of Howey’s factors, and that therefore the SEC is wrong. 

After so much analysis, only now has Deaton realized that he perhaps overlooked a vital detail related to the case that began as far back as 2020. 

In any case, this publication is not official, but rather, the case still remains pending official ruling. A ruling that could radically change the crypto industry and its norms in the US.