The CEO of Ripple says the UK’s framework for cryptocurrency is “well ahead” of the United States.
However in a Twitter thread Brad Garlinghouse said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the US gaining breakthrough regulatory clarity this year.
His company continues to face an ongoing legal case with authorities. In December 2020 the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple – operator of the RippleNet global payment network – alleging that it failed to register sales of its cryptocurrency XRP as securities, as required by law.
Ripple denies the allegations, claiming XRP is a currency, not a security.
“Singapore, the EU, Brazil, and Japan all have crypto frameworks – and the UK is well ahead of the US,” he wrote.
Referencing collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX – based in the Bahamas – he continued: “The lack of coordinated standards globally – or any in the US – continues to push business to countries with lower regulatory bars – with sometimes catastrophic results.”
However Garlinghouse said the industry in the US is “not working with a blank slate”, referencing numerous prior bills which have focused on stablecoins, digital asset security definitions and ‘safe harbors’.
“No bill is perfect and there likely never will be one that satisfies everyone. But perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of progress – these proposals provide more than a starting point for debate in this new Congress. The stakes couldn’t be higher,” he said.
“Changing the status quo is never easy but I believe that the will to act exists. The building blocks for regulation have already been introduced, and we have a chance to get this right for millions of Americans who already are – and will continue to be – interested in crypto.”