Ripple positions itself with Trump
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty had a joint dinner yesterday in Mar-a-Lago with the designated U.S. president Donald Trump.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty had a joint dinner yesterday in Mar-a-Lago with the designated U.S. president Donald Trump. This comes via a tweet. Garlinghouse called it a "strong start to 2025."
What was talked about at the dinner exactly isn’t known. Ripple was already known before the election as a major supporter of the Trump campaign. The meeting was likely used to strengthen relations with the designated president.
Especially regarding the SEC. The company has been in a legal clash with that U.S. market regulator for years. With the leadership change, Ripple hopes for a relaxation in the dispute. Garlinghouse wrote that the departing SEC chair would have effectively "frozen" Ripple’s domestic operations.
Since Trump’s election victory, morale inside the company has significantly improved. It’s said 75 percent of the new open roles are in the U.S. Ripple has big plans for 2025. On the one hand, they want to bring the 2024-launched stablecoin RLUSD to several prominent crypto exchanges like Coinbase. On the other hand, they’re hoping for approval of a Ripple Spot ETF in the U.S.
