Ripple Labs and its CEO faced criticism amid rumors of a Trump meeting.
Ripple Labs and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, are facing criticism from industry executives after rumors of the CEO's recent meeting with President-elect Trump began circulating on social media.
In response to the rumor, the former CEO and founder of Mesari, Ryan Selkis, said: “Brad Garlinghouse is shilling XRP (XRP) and CBDC applications.” Selkis' comments were posted by Pierre Rochard, vice president of research at Riot Platform.
Rochard agreed with Selkis, writing that “we cannot allow Ripple to co-opt the US policymaking process with their anti-bitcoin agenda” and hopes that the president-elect will appoint more Bitcoiners to his administration.
The rumored meeting between Ripple's CEO and Trump is believed to be one of the reasons behind XRP's recent rally, which saw Ripple's native currency rise by double digits.
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Garlinghouse is optimistic about the future in the Trump era.
During a recent appearance on Fox Business, Garlingous would neither confirm nor deny the rumored meeting with Trump. However, the CEO expressed confidence in the future of the crypto industry under the Trump administration:
“The crypto industry has embraced Trump; Trump has embraced the crypto industry. I think he's very real, and he sees the opportunity, he sees innovation, he sees entrepreneurship — I'm excited about what's going to happen in the future.”
The CEO of Ripple Labs also said that he was not surprised that crypto markets reacted positively after Trump's victory on November 5. Garlinghouse cited Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler's distaste for the industry as the main driver of crypto-based crackdowns. In the United States.
President-elect Trump vowed to fire Gary Gensler on his first day in office – a move that drew widespread support from the crypto industry and investors.
Following Trump's re-election, 18 US states filed lawsuits against Gensler, including Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Montana and others. The lawsuit accuses Gensler of violating government rights in a “general government attack” on the crypto industry.
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