Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Reveals XRP ETF is ‘Inevitable’ in the US

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stirred excitement on May 30 with his optimistic predictions about an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US. Speaking at the Consensus 2024 conference, Garlinghouse expressed strong confidence that an XRP ETF, along with ETFs for other altcoins like Solana and Cardano, is “inevitable.”

Spot Ether ETF Approval Sets Stage for XRP ETF

Garlinghouse’s bullish outlook comes despite the regulatory challenges he acknowledged. He criticized the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for its lack of clarity, particularly regarding Ether’s status as a security. A recent court document revealed that SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the agency considered Ether a security, highlighting the regulatory ambiguity.

According to Garlinghouse, this uncertainty is a significant barrier to cryptocurrency innovation in the US. His comments follow the SEC’s approval of the Spot Ethereum ETF, suggesting a potential trend toward broader acceptance of digital assets within the regulatory framework.

In February 2024, Garlinghouse similarly predicted the rise of altcoin ETFs, drawing parallels with the early days of the stock market where diversification was key to managing risk. He reiterated Ripple’s support for an XRP ETF, stating, “We would certainly welcome it, and I think it’s inevitable that there’ll be multiple ETFs around different tokens.”

Ripple’s Strategic Moves in DeFi and Tokenization

Meanwhile, Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, discussed the company’s latest initiatives at the Consensus 2024 event in an exclusive interview with Cryptonews’ Rachel Wolfson. Schwartz outlined Ripple’s efforts to promote institutional DeFi and ensure regulatory-compliant operations on decentralized blockchains. These initiatives aim to integrate institutions with strict compliance needs into the DeFi ecosystem without compromising decentralization principles.

Additionally, Ripple is advancing in tokenizing real-world assets, enabling them to be used as collateral in DeFi applications. This initiative aims to combine the benefits of regulatory-compliant products with the flexibility of decentralized finance.

XRP ETF Approval Projections Backed by Standard Chartered Insights

Multinational bank Standard Chartered has also commented on the potential for Solana and Ripple’s XRP to secure ETF approval. Analysts, including Geoffrey Kendric, believe that such approval is likely to occur in 2025 due to the current regulatory environment and market conditions. Kendric emphasized that while interest and anticipation for XRP and SOL ETFs are growing, the regulatory hurdles make a 2024 approval unlikely, shifting the focus to 2025.