Brad Garlinghouse Talks Crypto Diversification and XRP ETF Potential

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, recently shared his thoughts on the future of crypto investment products, suggesting the introduction of XRP-centered exchange-traded funds (ETFs) would be a logical step forward. During an interview with Bloomberg, he expressed optimism about the emergence of new crypto investment vehicles, drawing parallels with the early days of the stock market where diversification was key to mitigating risk.

Garlinghouse highlighted the importance of variety in investment options, indicating that just as investors seek to spread their risks across different stocks, the same principle could beneficially apply to the crypto market. “I think it makes sense that there will be other ETFs,” he stated, underscoring the need for a broader range of crypto investment products beyond the existing ones.

The conversation also touched on the challenges faced by the crypto industry in launching new ETFs, referencing the struggle to get a Bitcoin ETF approved. Garlinghouse pointed out that regulatory hurdles had previously stalled progress until legal interventions paved the way. This experience, according to him, showcases the complexities of introducing crypto ETFs under current regulatory frameworks.

Ripple itself has had a contentious relationship with the SEC, stemming from a lawsuit filed against the company in December 2020. The SEC accused Ripple Labs of selling XRP as an unregistered security, a claim that was later dismissed by a court ruling favoring Ripple. This legal victory, Garlinghouse noted, had a big impact on XRP’s market position, which had suffered due to the lawsuit.

Despite these challenges, Garlinghouse remains bullish about XRP’s potential, particularly in the payments sector. He emphasized XRP’s strengths, such as its speed, efficiency, and low transaction costs, as factors that make it well-suited for facilitating payments. “XRP and its dynamics are about being very fast, very efficient, [and] low cost on a per transaction basis [and that] makes it ideal for payments,” he explained.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.548 according to CoinMarketCap data.