<\/p>\n
The United States is one of \u2014 if not the worst \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only country I would not encourage you to start a company right now is in the U.S.,\u201d Garlinghouse said on a Sept. 12 panel at Token 2049 in Singapore. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n Garlinghouse pointed the blame at the Securities and Exchange Commission<\/a>, claiming its engaging in a political war with the industry with its lawsuits.<\/p>\n That lawsuit strategy isn\u2019t working, said Garlinghouse, and claimed Ripple<\/a> and Grayscale\u2019s court wins<\/a> over the SEC may suggest the court\u2019s mood is turning in the industry\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you\u2019re seeing the momentum shift. I think that it used to be that a lot of judges were like: \u2018Well, the SEC is always right,\u2019 and they weren\u2019t fighting that [but] I think you\u2019re starting to see the pattern change.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While the outcomes in Ripple and Grayscale aren\u2019t legally binding, Garlinghouse said the results provide more clarity to crypto exchanges and custody providers operating in the U.S. \u2014 at least for now.<\/p>\n OKX president Hong Fang acknowledged the politics at play but stressed for crypto firms to focus on what they can control.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Despite the U.S. being a big market for Ripple, Garlinghouse said it\u2019s expanding services to countries he claims are more progressive and better understand the potential benefits of blockchain technology.<\/p>\n During the panel, Fang said he thinks investors may not be ready for custody solutions built around a prospective spot Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) exchange-traded fund<\/a> because much of the new blockchain-based infrastructure hasn\u2019t been battle tested by the masses.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there’s a huge implication on custody […] The question I have on my mind is whether our industry is actually ready for it\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWe might not ready for a spot Bitcoin ETF<\/h3>\n