Ripple CEO Slams Anti-Bitcoin Claims

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly refuted claims of being ‘anti-Bitcoin’ during the Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in New York. He stated,
> “I don’t think I ever tried being anti-Bitcoin.”

Garlinghouse explained that his past comments regarding Bitcoin’s control by China related to the country’s dominance in BTC mining, which he believes is no longer the case. He criticized what he calls ‘misinformation’ from Bitcoin maximalists.

XRP vs. BTC

Criticism arose partly from internal emails suggesting Ripple’s stance on Bitcoin’s dominance by China. Influential Bitcoin supporters, like Strike’s Jack Mallers, accused Ripple of attempting to undermine the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve. In response, Garlinghouse claimed,
> “Maximalism remains the enemy of crypto progress, and I’m very glad to see fewer and fewer folks ascribe to this outdated and misinformed thinking.”

In a Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse revealed expectations that spot XRP ETFs would be ‘live’ in the second half of 2025. According to Polymarket, there’s an 82% chance of XRP ETF approval this year.

XRP has experienced significant growth, up 380% since last November, outperforming Bitcoin’s 288% rise over the same period. Despite the XRP/BTC ratio reaching resistance, XRP retains a positive outlook. Santiment reported that XRP witnessed increased accumulation, with 6X more unique addresses created in March and wallets holding at least 1 million XRP accumulating 6.5% more recently.

At the time of writing, XRP was valued at $2.48 and was still in a downtrend since last December.