Ripple CEO says the crypto community ‘can’t pretend regulation doesn’t matter’

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said there needs to be proper regulation in place for the cryptocurrency industry to thrive.

“There is an underlying segment of the crypto world that is so anti-regulation and all about anonymity,” Garlinghouse said today at a panel at Token 2049 in Singapore. “In my judgment, if we want this industry to thrive and achieve what it can fundamentally rewire how financial infrastructure works, we can't pretend like government regulation doesn't matter.”

He added that there are some basic things the crypto community has to agree on. “I still do find categories of the crypto community fighting on some of these basic regulatory frameworks.” 

“AML is going to matter, KYC is going to matter,” Garlinghouse, whose company has been caught up in a legal fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, continued. “If you're taking the point of view that we're going to circumvent those things, that's not the industry I see out 5 to 10 years from now that really is thriving and growing.”

Regulatory uncertainty

Commenting on the U.S. business environment for the crypto industry, Garlinghouse said that crypto entrepreneurs should avoid launching a company in the U.S.

“The only country I would not encourage people to start a company right now is the US. There's probably some others, but the U.S. is a big one to call out,” he said.

Last week, the SEC snapped back against Ripple’s assertion that a New York court should not allow the agency to appeal part of a high-profile ruling. The regulator said on Friday that Ripple was trying to delay a resolution “so that they may continue freely selling XRP -0.22% into public markets without the disclosures that come with registration.”