Ripple CEO Anticipates Further Approvals for Cryptocurrency ETFs

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 16, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed his belief that the approval of several Bitcoin ETFs in the United States will set the stage for the launch of similar cryptocurrency investment products in 2024. While not explicitly predicting the approval of an XRP ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Garlinghouse anticipates that an Ether ETF will receive the green light in the near future.

Ripple CEO Anticipates Further Approvals for Cryptocurrency ETFs

In an interview with CNBC correspondent Arjun Kharpal at the Filecoin Sanctuary in Davos, Garlinghouse stated, “I think it’s a certainty. I’m not going to put a horizon on the time, but I think there will be other ETFs for sure.” He addressed the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs, criticizing the regulatory approach of SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Garlinghouse characterized Gensler as a “political liability” and expressed concerns about the long-term interests of the U.S. citizenry and economic growth.

Referring to a famous expression about insanity, Garlinghouse remarked, “The reality is we have a Bitcoin ETF only because a U.S. court said to the SEC, ‘You’re being arbitrary and capricious in your application of the law.’ What would be sad is if every ETF had to go through that same journey and for Gary Gensler to get smacked down by the U.S. court system again, but that might be necessary.”

As reported by Cointelegraph, Bitcoin ETFs achieved a total trading volume of $1.8 billion on January 16, with Grayscale, BlackRock, and Fidelity contributing $1.6 billion. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted a significant contrast between the $450 million trading volume of all 500 ETFs launched in the U.S. in 2023 on the same day.