Ripple is the biggest obstacle for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in the US – Riot VP

Riot Platforms vice president Pierre Rochard accused Ripple Labs of actively lobbying against the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve (SBR) in the US.

Rochard made the claims in a Jan. 23 social media post.

He stated: 

“The biggest obstacle for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is not the Fed, Treasury, banks, or even Elizabeth Warren. It’s Ripple/XRP. They are aggressively lobbying against the SBR by throwing around millions of dollars at politicians, desperately trying to derail it.”

According to the Riot executive, Ripple's opposition to the SBR stems from its vested interest in promoting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) that could operate on Ripple's infrastructure.

Additionally, Rochard said that Ripple allegedly did the same to attack Bitcoin mining under former President Joe Biden's administration. He added that investing in XRP is the same as “financing anti-Bitcoin lobbyists.”

Lyudmyla Kozlovska, president of the Open Dialogue Foundation, claimed that Ripple allegedly attacks BTC in the European Union “even more.”

In another post, Rochard shared a snippet from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse speaking about a diversified crypto reserve in the US instead of just Bitcoin. The goal is to include other technologies, which would be “from a diversification point of view.”

According to the Riot executive, that's what Ripple has been championing “behind closed doors” while waving millions of dollars at politicians.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse responded to the allegations and said that Ripple's lobbying efforts were aimed at all digital assets, including Bitcoin.

He said:

“Unless you are choosing to ignore the core tenets of the POTUS campaign (which aggressively supports American companies and technologies), our efforts are actually INCREASING the likelihood of a crypto strategic reserve (which includes Bitcoin) happening.”

The idea of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve gained traction among crypto proponents who see Bitcoin as a crucial tool for strengthening the US dollar and safeguarding national economic security. Private firms started adopting it, with Riot adding $510 million worth of BTC in December.

Recently, reports surfaced that President Donald Trump is talking to Ripple about creating a US national reserve based on XRP, Solana (SOL), and USD Coin (USDC). This plan would complement a Bitcoin reserve.