Bitcoin ‘tribalism’ is holding the crypto industry back, Ripple CEO says

Bitcoin ‘tribalism’ is holding the crypto industry back, Ripple CEO says


Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on Oct. 19, 2021.

Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“Tribalism” around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is holding back the entire $2 trillion market, according to the boss of blockchain firm Ripple.

“Polarization isn’t healthy in my judgement,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a CNBC-hosted fireside chat at Paris Blockchain Week Summit last week.

“I own bitcoin, I own ether, I own some others. I am an absolute believer that this industry is going to continue to thrive.”

“All boats can rise,” Garlinghouse added.

Garlinghouse, a former Yahoo executive, compared the crypto industry today to the dotcom era of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“Yahoo could be successful and so could eBay … They’re solving different problems,” he said. “There’s different use cases and different audiences and different markets. I think a lot of those parallels exist today.”

There are now tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies in circulation, worth a combined $2 trillion, according to CoinGecko data.

Some digital coins have attracted quite a dedicated following — not least bitcoin, whose hardcore advocates are often referred to as “maximalists.”

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor are among the so-called maximalists who support only bitcoin and not other cryptocurrencies.

Garlinghouse said such maximalism has meant the crypto industry has “fractured representation” when it comes to lobbying U.S. lawmakers.

Last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling on the government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies.

“The lack of coordination in Washington, D.C., amongst the crypto industry, I find to be shocking,” he said.

Ripple is often linked with XRP, a cryptocurrency the company uses for cross-border payments.

The company owns a majority of the 100 billion XRP tokens in circulation, which it periodically releases from an escrow account to keep prices stable.

Ripple is in court with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it illegally sold over $1 billion worth of XRP in an unregistered securities offering. The company argues XRP should be considered a virtual currency, not a security.



Source

Robinhood’s 0 million Bitstamp deal takes it beyond retail trading
Technology

Robinhood’s $200 million Bitstamp deal takes it beyond retail trading

Robinhood has officially closed its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp, bringing one of the world’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges into its fold and signaling a strategic shift beyond retail trading and into the world of institutions. The all-cash deal, first announced last year, gives Robinhood an immediate international footprint — including more than 50 active crypto […]

Read More
Elon Musk’s Neuralink raises 0 million in fresh capital
Technology

Elon Musk’s Neuralink raises $650 million in fresh capital

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images Elon Musk’s brain tech startup Neuralink has closed a $650 million funding round, the company announced on Monday. ARK Invest, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and other firms participated in the round, according to a release. Neuralink said the fresh capital will help the […]

Read More
Applied Digital shares rip 40% higher on CoreWeave AI lease agreement
Technology

Applied Digital shares rip 40% higher on CoreWeave AI lease agreement

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images Shares of Applied Digital rose more than 40% after the company said it signed two long-term lease agreements with CoreWeave for artificial intelligence data centers. Nvidia-backed CoreWeave climbed more than 7% following the announcement. Financial terms of the two agreements were not provided, but Applied Digital said […]

Read More