Riot Platforms Executive Accuses Ripple Of Lobbying Against Bitcoin Reserve
- Riot Platforms alleges Ripple promotes CBDCs to undermine Bitcoin’s reserve potential.
- Ripple spent $940K lobbying in 2023; accused of blocking the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve initiative.
- Brad Garlinghouse denies claims, says lobbying supports crypto reserves including Bitcoin.
Ripple Labs has been accused of attempting to undermine the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in the United States. In a recent social media post, Pierre Rochard, Vice President of Research at Riot Platforms, made the claims. As Rochard pointed out, the company has spent a lot of resources to influence political decision-makers in a bid to stop the initiative.
According to Rochard, Ripple is against the SBR to protect its vested interest in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) that run on Ripple’s infrastructure. He stated that the company has been working against promoting Bitcoin as a reserve asset, which many believe could strengthen the U.S. economy.
Claims of Lobbying and CBDC Promotion
Rochard claimed that Ripple is bribing policymakers in the United States, pointing out that the company has spent millions of dollars on lobbying. He also accused network of targeting Bitcoin mining during the Biden administration, stating that these had been designed to protect its marketing narrative and promote CBDCs.
The company has been highly engaged in the creation of CBDCs. In May 2023, the company introduced a solution for government CBDC and stablecoin issuance. There are also claims that Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, donated more than $11 million to political action committees (PACs) backing Kamala Harris, who was earlier an advocate of CBDC.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has also refuted the claims, stating that the company’s lobbying efforts only promote policies on digital assets, including Bitcoin. He stressed that Ripple’s work corresponds with the goals of promoting American technologies, thus contributing to forming a strategic crypto reserve.
Speculation on a Broader Crypto Reserve
Rochard’s comments follow rumors that the US government might be planning to create a diversified digital asset reserve. Some coins mentioned as possible constituents of such a reserve include Ripple’s XRP, Solana (SOL), and USD Coin (USDC). President Donald Trump has recently issued an executive order to develop a structure for regulating digital assets, which added to this speculation.
While Rochard stressed that SBR should only be about Bitcoin, Garlinghouse pointed out that having more than one cryptocurrency would benefit due to diversification. However, critics like Rochard believe that allowing for any asset beyond Bitcoin goes against the idea of the initiative being promoted.
Some of the members of the cryptocurrency community have also taken to debating on the role that Ripple is believed to have played in the fight against the SBR. The allegations also seem to point towards increasing role of private actors in defining the legal framework of digital assets.
Ripple has denied these claims. The company remains focused on expanding cryptocurrency adoption while advocating for innovations based in the United States. It has also reaffirmed its position of supporting the development of cryptocurrency policies in both Republican and Democratic states.
