Crypto, Ether ETF 'A Certainty': Ripple CEO Calls Gensler's Regulatory Strategy A 'Political Liability'

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain company Ripple Labs, has predicted that cryptocurrencies such as Ether will mirror Bitcoin's progression toward spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and critically assessed the regulatory approach of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, saying that his frequent legal interventions have made him a "political liability."

Garlinghouse noted that the swift rise in Ethereum's value after the authorization of spot Bitcoin ETFs is a clear indicator of the market's strong interest in a more diverse range of ETF products.

"It's a certainty. I'm not going to put a horizon on the time, but I think there will be other ETFs for sure. There will be other ETFs for sure...," Garlinghouse said in a recent interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

According to the Ripple Labs CEO, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a BTC ETF primarily due to judicial compulsion. Garlinghouse said he hopes that other cryptos don't have to jump through the same regulatory hoops.

He also expressed optimism for a more streamlined process for other cryptocurrencies in the future, implying that the pathway to ETF approval for digital assets like Bitcoin has been unduly complex.

"The sad part of that reality is we have a Bitcoin ETF only because a US court said to the SEC, 'You're being arbitrary and capricious in your application of the law.' What would be sad is if every ETF had to go through that same journey, and for Gary Gensler to get smacked down by the US court system again, that might be necessary," Garlinghouse said.

"I think Gary Gensler is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting to win in court, despite repeated losses," he said, adding, "But at some point, I think Gary Gensler won't be the chair of the SEC, and that'll be a good thing for the American people."

The Ripple CEO described Gensler's approach as overly rigid even after the regulator approved Bitcoin spot ETFs and accused him of not acting in "the best interest of the citizenry," suppressing the "long-term growth" of the U.S. economy.

Ripple's relationship with U.S. regulators, notably the SEC, has been marked by scrutiny and legal challenges, revolving around the classification of XRP - whether it's a security or a currency.

In December 2020, the SEC, under the leadership of Jay Clayton, filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc., its CEO Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen, alleging that XRP was an unregistered security and that its sale violated U.S. securities laws.

XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple blockchain, was trading at $0.5751 as of 2:10 a.m. ET on Wednesday with a 24-hour trading volume of $872,482,633.

The crypto asset's latest price action represents a 0.66% dip in its value on the day and a 0.95% gain over the last seven days.

The current circulating supply of XRP stands at 54,266,821,529 XRP and its market cap is at $30,985,174,564, according to data from CoinMarketCap.