Ripple CEO says Facebook went too far with Libra 🚨 This article is 5 years old...
Ripple CEO says Facebook went too far with Libra
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Updated: Nov. 7, 2019 at 2:38 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, said that Facebook was responsible for the scrutiny and criticism it encountered from regulators. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Garlinghouse said that the company went “too far” in its whitepaper by stating Libra was going to become a “new currency.”
Facebook sabotaged Libra with “arrogant” approach
While the regulatory scrutiny Facebook‘s Libra was subjected to since its announcement was welcomed by those opposing its launch, others argued that it actually brought more harm to the crypto industry. Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, seems to be one of them.
Garlinghouse told Fortune earlier this week that Libra has forced regulators to lump all cryptocurrencies into “one big bucket” and that Ripple could easily get caught in the crossfire. He later told Bloomberg TV that it was Facebook’s arrogant approach to Libra that caused turmoil in the market. Garlinghouse added that by defining libra as a “new currency,” Facebook instantly became a thorn in the eye of financial regulators.
“I think the U.S. dollar actually works pretty well,” he continued, saying that the world doesn’t need a new fiat currency. The way Facebook rolled out Libra caused a lot of turbulence, which is one of the many reasons why it got such a negative reaction.
"I think the U.S. dollar works pretty well. We don't need a new fiat currency"– Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on why he thinks Facebook took an arrogant approach with Librahttps://t.co/faVtrXTMej pic.twitter.com/aAs8YyyiEU
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) July 29, 2019
Apart from that, Libra’s model was built on challenging traditional financial institutions and money transmitters. And while setting ambitious goals is at the very core of Silicon Valley, Facebook might have gone too far this time, Garlinghouse said.
Ripple and Libra aren’t competitors
When asked about Libra’s influence on the crypto industry, Garlinghouse said that it could be a bad omen to crypto. He cited President Donald Trump’s anti-crypto tweets as a clear example of negative press Libra has brought upon the crypto space.
“The danger that is happening right now is that legitimate projects working on taking advantage of crypto to solve real problems get caught in the crossfire a little bit. Because you are seeing even the president came out and tweet ‘I don’t like cryptocurrencies,’” he told Bloomberg TV.
Increased regulatory pressure seems to have affected Ripple, as the company wrote an open letter asking the U.S. Congress not to “paint all crypto projects with the same broad brush.” The company asserted that some digital currencies, especially XRP, offer the opportunity to complement fiat currencies and shouldn’t see the innovation behind them stifled.
Garlinghouse had the same sentiment during the Bloomberg TV interview, saying that Ripple was an institution-centric company that works alongside governments and financial institutions. Libra, he explained, wants to replace banks and still hasn’t met any of the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations in the U.S.
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XRP
$1.40014
The XRP Ledger is a decentralized cryptographic ledger powered by a network of peer-to-peer servers.
Meta
Meta (formerly known as Facebook, Inc.) is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California.
Ripple
Ripple is a US-based technology company which develops the Ripple payment protocol and exchange network using XRP, the digital asset native to the XRP Ledger.
Brad Garlinghouse stands at the forefront of financial technology as the CEO of Ripple.
