Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse offered his most positive statements about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to date on Wednesday, while attempting to toe his company’s official line of neutrality on the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
During an onstage appearance at D.C. Fintech Week this afternoon, the crypto executive appeared to compliment what he saw as the sophistication of Harris’ approach to digital assets, in contrast with the strategy of her election opponent, former president Donald Trump.
“Obviously, Trump came out early and very aggressively… and said he’s the crypto president,” Garlinghouse said. “Kamala and Team Harris have been more nuanced.”
The Ripple chief went on to laud Harris for announcing last week that she would support a crypto regulatory framework if elected, calling the statement “most constructive.”
While Garlinghouse conceded that Vice President Harris has been “relatively quiet” about crypto compared with Trump, he framed the Democratic nominee as a “pro-technology” leader with roots in Silicon Valley.
Thus, even though the Ripple CEO insisted that the upcoming presidential election will be the most crucial in crypto’s history, he maintained that either a Harris or Trump victory would spell good news for the industry compared to the current regime.
“I think no matter what happens, we’re going to see a reset, we’re going to see forward progress,” Garlinghouse said. “No matter what happens, we’re going to leave behind a failed approach from the Biden Administration.”
In recent days, Ripple has come under increased scrutiny within the industry for its leadership’s political allegiances. On Monday, one the company’s co-founders, Chris Larsen, announced that he personally donated an additional $10 million worth of XRP to aid Harris’ campaign, after donating $1 million in August. XRP is a cryptocurrency that Ripple’s founders helped create and that the company utilizes in its money-moving tools.
Some in the industry criticized the donations, given Trump’s months of campaign trail appeals to crypto projects and holders. Nic Carter, an emerging tech-focused VC and a prominent voice on Crypto Twitter, lambasted Larsen’s financial backing of Harris as “completely baffling.”
Is this satire? Wtf?
— Stevosluck (@1song2more) October 21, 2024
But Garlinghouse quickly chimed in to support the contribution, emphasizing that he respected the right of any Ripple employee to support “whomever they think is best to lead the U.S.”
I respect Chris’ (and everyone’s!) right to support whomever they think is best to lead the U.S.
We need to immediately change course from this administration’s misguided war on crypto.
Ripple will continue to engage with both Democrats and Republicans in the final days of…
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 21, 2024
The Ripple CEO maintained on Wednesday that he would not endorse either presidential candidate before November. But the position he’s staked out for himself, and for Ripple, has already made a few waves within the industry.
Edited by Andrew Hayward