Ripple CEO Speaks Out Against Polarization in Crypto

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently told CNBC that maximalism is a major hurdle for the industry.

Unhealthy polarization will not bode well for cryptocurrency market growth, according to the 51-year-old executive.

Garlinghouse, who himself holds Bitcoin and Ethereum, believes that more than one cryptocurrency could succeed, which is why there is no place for tribalism.

The former Yahoo executive, who also oversaw product teams at AOL, recalled that many companies managed to thrive simultaneously during the dot-com mania in the late 1990s since they were working on solving different problems.

The executive is particularly concerned about the lack of coordination among cryptocurrency industry leaders on the regulatory front in Washington, DC. Garlinghouse described this lack of cooperation as "shocking."

After Ripple got sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in late 2020, it attracted plenty of criticism from the cryptocurrency community for targeting Bitcoin and Ethereum in its Wells notice and accusing the agency of picking "winners and losers." At the same time, members of the XRP community believe that the SEC created an uneven playing field for other projects by allegedly providing clarity for the top two cryptocurrencies.

Last December, the Ripple head commented that the decline of maximalism was a positive thing for the industry.

Even though Garlinghouse opposes tribalism, he has spoken out against cryptocurrency projects with no utility in the past. As reported by U.Today, the Ripple boss predicted that a whopping 99% of cryptocurrencies would eventually go to zero. He opined that the lion's share of crypto projects had little substance.