Ripple CEO, Garlinghouse, Holds Off IPO, unveils competition strategy against SWIFT

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, revealed that the company had no imminent plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) due to increased regulatory pressure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Brad also mentioned that a lack of regulatory clarity hinders development in the decentralized ecosystem.

Also Read: Ripple withdraws its stakes from Bitstamp and Tranglo, fails to give reasons 

Brad Garlinghouse spoke to Fortune’s Andrew Nusca in an interview about Ripple’s trajectory as a tech company. Brad said that the company will not pursue an IPO any time soon due to the U.S. SEC’s current crackdown on centralized crypto entities like Ripple. However, he shed light on future IPO plans when regulation becomes standard and streamlined.

Ripple has been in a legal battle with the U.S. SEC for years. The commission sued Ripple in December 2020, arguing that the company issued XRP to investors as unregistered securities. After three and a half years of legal battle, the U.S. court ruled that XRP is not a security. In the interview, Garlinghouse said he estimates to get closure on the case in about two months.

Brad Garlinghouse discusses crypto regulations in the U.S.

💯💯 07/16/2024 FORTUNE´S FULL INTERVIEW WITH BRAD GARLINGHOUSE @bgarlinghouse @Ripple @RippleXDev @FortuneMagazine

TOPICS:
➡️ RIPPLE VS SEC: COSTS OF $150 MILLION
➡️ REGULATIONS / MiCA / CFTC VS SEC
➡️ IPO: NO IMMINENT PLANS FOR AN IPO
➡️ TOKENIZATION: MORE EFFICIENT MARKETS… https://t.co/1kIl5H2EA3 pic.twitter.com/xBYuJnynk2

— XRP DROPZ (@DROPZXRP) July 17, 2024

Garlinghouse touched on crypto industry regulations, stating that the United States is lagging behind European countries that have established a framework for digital asset regulation. Brad also mentioned countries like Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom who have regulatory clarity on companies operating in the digital asset space.

The CEO added that blockchain-based companies like Ripple have campaigned for the government to establish clear cryptocurrency rules for the past 5 years. Ripple has initiated a share buyback program that aims to repurchase $1.4 billion worth of stocks from shareholders, Garlinghouse said.

Garlinghouse comments on Ripple’s competitive edge against SWIFT

“We are trying to let value move the way information moves.[…] This will unlock a lot of value for society”

–Brad Garlinghouse 

Brad criticized SWIFT, the global cross-border payments giant used by banks and institutions, stating that the underlying technology is old and outdated. Garlinghouse’s issue with SWIFT is that it takes time, sometimes days, to process transactions, and the cost of facilitating the transfer is high.  

On the other hand, he mentioned that Ripple’s technology would make the process faster and significantly cheaper. The CEO emphasized that SWIFT’s payment system is rigid, while Ripple is highly interoperable with other networks.

The interview happened after Whale Alert, a blockchain explorer, reported that Ripple transferred 150,000,000 XRP worth approximately $65 million to an unknown wallet on July 9th.