According to Cointelegraph: Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, stated that he expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve more cryptocurrency-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following the approvals of several Bitcoin ETFs. Speaking to CNBC's Arjun Kharpal at the 2024 Davos World Economic Forum, Garlinghouse asserted these recent approvals would lead to the launch of more cryptocurrency investment products in the coming year.
While not explicitly predicting an XRP ETF approval, Garlinghouse expressed optimism about an Ethereum ETF receiving approval in the near future. He mentioned that it was a certainty that other ETFs would be approved but refrained from providing a specific timeline.
Garlinghouse's comments come in the backdrop of the surge of crypto ETFs since the SEC green-lighted Bitcoin ETFs. The Ripple CEO acknowledged the latter approval, despite the lack of direct endorsement of Bitcoin from the SEC’s chairman, Gary Gensler.
Garlinghouse critiqued Gensler’s regulatory approach and raised concerns over what he termed as repetitive actions that had not yielded different results. He went on to call out Gensler for not acting in the best interests of the U.S. economy or its citizens.
Garlinghouse also observed that the SEC is under growing pressure from the U.S. justice system over its regulatory treatment of the cryptocurrency sector. He contended that the existence of a Bitcoin ETF is primarily due to a U.S. court's insistence on the SEC's arbitrary application of the law.
Moving forward, the Ripple CEO anticipates that the stablecoin market will fulfill a crucial need and foresees a greater need for regulatory clarity around that, which he believes is beneficial for the entire industry. His statements come as Bitcoin ETFs are experiencing significant growth, with Cointelegraph reporting a total trading volume of $1.8 billion on January 16, led by Grayscale, BlackRock and Fidelity.
