During a recent fireside chat at the Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, provided significant updates on the company’s upcoming initiatives. Garlinghouse revealed that Ripple is nearing the launch of its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, known as Ripple USD (RLUSD).
The stablecoin is still in private closed beta, though its public release is expected in weeks, not months. This comes after Ripple announced last month that it had begun experimenting with RLUSD across two blockchain networks, seen as a calculated penetration to improve its standing in the stablecoin market.
Garlinghouse’s comments also included the overall stablecoin market, of which 70% and 21% belong to Tether and USD Coin holders respectively. This is considered a timely entry by Ripple with RLUSD, especially after the de-pegging of USDC, which was about 18 months ago, hinting at a possible change of tide.
Garlinghouse Rejects U.S. IPO, Criticizes SEC’s Stance on Crypto
Regarding the issue of the IPO, Garlinghouse showed no desire to open discussions for that in the United States. He said that one of the main concerns is the SEC trend towards crypto companies being negative. These remarks pointed at the hypocrisy of the SEC which approved Coinbase’s public offering and then sued it for the same activities that it had endorsed. Mr. Garlinghouse also discouraged the inclusion of crypto businesses in the United States, stating the expenses that come along with regulating such businesses were overpriced.
Regarding the upcoming U.S. presidential election, Garlinghouse suggested that whoever wins the election, there is likely to be a change of guard at the SEC. He said that the current SEC Chairman’s name is Gary Gensler and from what Garlinghouse garnered from the national conventions, the man is a pariah to both parties.
In a recent case, the court directed Ripple to pay a $125 million fine, which is far less than the $2 billion that the SEC originally sought. Garlinghouse also pointed out the importance of this win, saying that it reaffirms Ripple’s belief in its legal position and the potential impact on the whole sphere of cryptocurrencies.
