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Brad Garlinghouse

Brad Garlinghouse said Singapore, the U.K., the UAE and Switzerland are jurisdictions with “smart” crypto policies he thinks the U.S. should adopt.

The United States is one of — if not the worst — place to launch a cryptocurrency startup in the world right now, according to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse whose firm is in a legal battle with the U.S. securities regulator.

“The only country I would not encourage you to start a company right now is in the U.S.,” Garlinghouse said on a Sept. 12 panel at Token 2049 in Singapore.

The Ripple boss wants the U.S. to take note from the likes of Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland by enacting policies that encourage crypto innovation while protecting consumers.

*Bloomberg’s Annabelle Droulers (left) moderating a panel with Garlinghouse (center-left), OKX’s Hong Fang (center-right) and BitGo’s Mike Belshe (right). Source: Andrew Fenton/Cointelegraph*

Garlinghouse pointed the blame at the Securities and Exchange Commission claiming its engaging in a political war with the industry with its lawsuits.

That lawsuit strategy isn’t working, said Garlinghouse, and claimed Ripple and Grayscale’s court wins over the SEC may suggest the court’s mood is turning in the industry’s favor.

“I think you're seeing the momentum shift. I think that it used to be that a lot of judges were like: ‘Well the SEC is always right,’ and they weren't fighting that [but] I think you're starting to see the pattern change.”

While the outcomes in Ripple and Grayscale aren’t legally binding, Garlinghouse said the results provide more clarity to crypto exchanges and custody providers operating in the U.S. — at least for now.

OKX president Hong Fang acknowledged the politics at play but stressed for crypto firms to focus on what they can control.

“We can only control what we can control, which is to build the right product and to focus on the technology and to support responsible regulation.”

Despite the U.S. being a big market for Ripple, Garlinghouse said it’s expanding services to countries he claims are more progressive and better understand the potential benefits of blockchain technology.

We might not ready for a spot Bitcoin ETF

During the panel, Fang said he thinks investors may not be ready for custody solutions built around a prospective spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund because much of the new blockchain-based infrastructure hasn’t been battle tested by the masses.

“I think there's a huge implication on custody [...] The question I have on my mind is whether our industry is actually ready for it” he said.

Fang acknowledged a spot Bitcoin ETF will lead to more institutional inflows but isn’t convinced that investors can now stomach Bitcoin’s volatility and second guessed the readiness of continuing to build more applications on top of Bitcoin.

“We are actually creating something that is new, that we can build on top of, a new monetary system that hasn't come to fruition yet,” Fang said. “So I don't know whether we're ready for that yet from an industry infrastructure perspective.”

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Brad Garlinghouse

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein emphasized the need for a balanced regulatory approach to cryptocurrency to avoid hindering innovation in the United States.

Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein highlighted a potential negative outcome for United States economy if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to take a one-by-one approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry.

During a recent interview with Fox Business, Sonnenshein expressed that the SEC could drive crypto firms out of the country by constantly resorting to enforcement actions against the industry.

“If every crypto issued needs to go to a court of law, then we are squashing the innovation taking place here,” Sonnenshein stated.

*Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein on Fox Business 'The Claman Countdown'. Source: Fox Business*

Likewise, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse echoed similar comments prior to the partial victory of Ripple, which was decided on July 13.

Garlinghouse expressed that the SEC is “looking to kill” innovation and the cryptocurrency in the U.S.

However, Sonnenshein holds a positive outlook regarding the ongoing developments Congress is taking to provide regulatory clarity for the industry.

“A lot of this legislation that this congress could very well pass, could give the industry the actual clarity it needs to move forward in a way that embraces crypto” Sonnenshein stated.

On July 31, Cointelegraph reported that the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) approved the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act with a 35-15 vote.

The act aims to establish registration rules for crypto firms under the jurisdiction of either the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the SEC.

Sonnenshein pointed out that the SEC is assessing the wrong criteria when determining which Bitcoin ETF should be introduced to the market.

“When I think about the process that the SEC should be untaking here, it’s really not to pick winners and losers, it is to ensure that all the right disclosures are put out there for investors.”

Sonnenshein further explained during the interview that there is room for several spot Bitcoin products on the market.

“We’ve been ready for a world where there are multiple spot Bitcoin products, where there are multiple bitcoin future products on the market" Sonnenshein stated.

He argued that the SEC’s previous approval of the Bitcoin Futures ETF implies it does in fact have an adequate oversight of the Bitcoin market.

“They do not believe there is sufficient surveillance in the underlying Bitcoin market[...]The SEC already has the tools to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs."

On Aug. 11, the SEC delayed its decision on the outcome of the spot Bitcoin ETF proposed by ARK Investment Management.

After its publication in the Federal Register, the SEC initiated a public comment period for the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.

This marks the most recent postponement in the regulatory decision-making process regarding the approval or disapproval of a spot crypto ETF in the U.S.

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Brad Garlinghouse

We might not ready for a spot Bitcoin ETF

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