Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has revealed that Ripple Labs was close to repurchasing up to $1.4 billion of its stock from investors. Garlinghouse shared this information during a speech at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech Conference in Utah.
💯💯 07/16/2024 FORTUNE´S FULL INTERVIEW WITH BRAD GARLINGHOUSE @bgarlinghouse @Ripple @RippleXDev @FortuneMagazine
TOPICS:
➡️ RIPPLE VS SEC: COSTS OF $150 MILLION
➡️ REGULATIONS / MiCA / CFTC VS SEC
➡️ IPO: NO IMMINENT PLANS FOR AN IPO
➡️ TOKENIZATION: MORE EFFICIENT MARKETS… https://t.co/1kIl5H2EA3 pic.twitter.com/xBYuJnynk2— XRP DROPZ (@DROPZXRP) July 17, 2024
The speech focused on several issues affecting Ripple and the crypto industry, such as regulatory efforts, MiCA in Europe, the ongoing legal issues with the SEC, and Ripple’s IPO plans.
SEC Lawsuit Likely Causing IPO Delays for Ripple
Brad Garlinghouse confirmed at the conference that Ripple Labs is buying back its stock from investors. However, he claimed that Ripple is not going public yet and that its Initial Public Offering (IPO) plans are on hold.
According to Garlinghouse, plans for an IPO are on hold due to Ripple’s current issues with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). Further, Garlinghouse noted that Ripple’s long-running battle with the SEC is not about XRP’s regulatory status.
He reminded the public that XRP received regulatory clarity in July 2023 when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that it was not a security. As such, only Bitcoin and XRP have such regulatory clarity in the United States.
Also, Garlinghouse stated that going public is not Ripple’s ultimate goal but a step toward it. Although Ripple Labs continues to buy back its shares from investors, there are no plans to go public soon.
The CEO also mentioned that Ripple has been working behind the scenes to repurchase its shares from investors and employees. When Ripple’s buyback process is complete, the total value is expected to be $1.4 billion.
During the speech, Garlinghouse expressed surprise that crypto has become a partisan issue. According to him, cryptocurrency legislation is divided along party lines only in the United States.
However, in other regions, the public and private sectors focus on how advanced cryptocurrencies are and the benefits they bring to existing systems.
Brad Garlinghouse Reveals Legal Costs as XRP Records Slight Gains
Garlinghouse discussed vital issues affecting Ripple, especially the long-running SEC lawsuit with the US SEC. He claimed the legal costs are approximately $150 million, and he did not provide a specific date for the final hearing.
A crypto enthusiast on X, MissCrypto, thanked Brad Garlinghouse for sharing his thoughts on the debate about whether crypto is bad. She believes there is no reason to forbid innovation, and people must change their mindsets before changing infrastructure.
thanks for speaking clear words on the fuzzy debatte about “Crypto is bad”. There is no reason to forbid innovation. The reason for the debatte is that many people didn´t want to accept that they were wrong. To change big things in world there is more work for changing minds than…
— MissCrypto (@MissCryptoGER) July 16, 2024
Based on Ripple’s CEO’s comments, an IPO is not out of the question, but it is on hold until there is sufficient legal clarity with the SEC. Meanwhile, XRP continues to trade below $1 due to several issues, such as its legal battles limiting its price gains.
If Ripple gets a favorable ruling against the SEC this year, XRP will likely return to its all-time high value. The asset mirrors the positive trend in the crypto market and will likely retest the $0.60 resistance level soon.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not constitute financial advice. We encourage readers to conduct their own research and determine their own risk tolerance before making any financial decisions. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile, high-risk asset class.
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