November 22, 2024

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Blockchain solutions provider Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse (right) speaks during a press conference held in Seoul on Tuesday. (Ripple Labs)

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of San Francisco-based Ripple Labs, on Tuesday sharply criticized US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler over the recently concluded legal tug-of-war with the regulator.

Reflecting on Ripple’s recent legal win against the SEC, Garlinghouse doubted Gensler’s tenure would continue regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election, saying, "I'll make a gentleman's bet that won't happen," during a press conference in Seoul.

Garlinghouse made these remarks while fielding questions from Korean journalists about Ripple's four-year legal battle with the SEC, which began in 2020 when the SEC accused Ripple of raising funds through the sale of its cryptocurrency, XRP, without registering it as a security. On Aug. 7, a court ruled in favor of Ripple, declaring its cryptocurrency XRP a currency, not a security, reducing the penalty to $12 million, down 94 percent from the $2 billion sought by the SEC.

Garlinghouse also commented on the US crypto policy landscape ahead of the November election, stating, "Technology should be bipartisan ... I think we will see it become more so as the election continues." He noted that while Republicans have been more supportive of cryptocurrency recently, several leading Democrats see these technologies as vital for maintaining US tech leadership.

At Tuesday's press event, the CEO was accompanied by Ripple's core executive group, including President Monica Long, Chief Technology Officer and XRP ledger co-creator David Schwartz and Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Eric van Miltenburg.

XRP, the seventh-largest cryptocurrency globally, has seen increased trading in Korea amid optimism over Ripple's legal prospects. Garlinghouse highlighted Asia's importance, saying, "The majority of all XRP held on exchanges worldwide is in Korea and Japan," and outlined plans to strengthen business in the region.

On Tuesday, Ripple announced a partnership with Korea's Yonsei University, the 58th member of its University Blockchain Research Initiatives program and the 12th from the Asia-Pacific region to join the program aimed at advance blockchain research. This follows the launch of a fund in June to promote XRPL technology development in Korea and Japan.

Ripple is also expanding its focus on the growing crypto custody market, which is projected to exceed $10 trillion by 2030, with 10 percent of the world’s gross domestic product expected to be tokenized by then.

“Most of this adoption will be driven by institutional players who will need a place to store these crypto assets,” said Ripple President Long. She identified Korean institutions as potential partners, noting that major banks like Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank are entering the crypto custody space, which presents significant opportunities for Ripple.

However, Long emphasized the need for regulatory advancements in Korea to fully capitalize on these opportunities.

“Current regulations do not allow banks to make payments using blockchain, but Korea's Financial Services Commission is considering new guidelines to provide clarity," she said. "We look forward to engage with more banks then." The FSC has issued guidelines defining digital assets as security tokens and is expected to finalize amendments by the first half of 2025.

The Ripple executives' visit to Seoul comes amid Korea Blockchain Week 2024, where Garlinghouse was a featured speaker.

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)