Excessive regulation of the cryptocurrency industry could prompt Ripple to relocate to Europe or Asia, co-founder Chris Larsen said at the LA Blockchain Summit, which began on Tuesday.
In his view, the United States is “horribly lagging” in building the next generation of financial systems based on cryptocurrencies, and blockchain and digital assets are “not welcome” in the country.
“If you want to do this business, you’d probably be better off going somewhere else. Frankly, we’re even considering moving our headquarters to a more welcoming jurisdiction,” Larsen said.
As possible options, Ripple is considering the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore or Japan.
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington said he fully understands the decision. He said the lack of regulatory clarity around cryptocurrencies is a disaster for the United States.
Good for Ripple. The lack of clarity in crypto is a disaster for the U.S. https://t.co/E9HB60BBV7
— Michael Arrington (@arrington) October 6, 2020
Commenting on the post, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse explained that the strongest Internet companies were built in the United States, in part due to regulatory clarity. He is convinced that the same opportunity should exist for companies operating in the blockchain and digital-asset space.
“Responsible players, such as Ripple, aren’t seeking to avoid rules; we simply want to operate in a jurisdiction where the rules are clear,” the head of the company stressed.
Strongest internet companies built in the US, in part b/c of regulatory clarity. We have that opp with blockchain + digital assets. Responsible players like Ripple aren’t looking to avoid rules, we just want to operate in a jurisdiction where the rules are clear. #DCEA of 2020 https://t.co/LqbEDuMXvx
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 6, 2020
Ripple, based in San Francisco, is in its second year of litigation with former investors. They allege the company distributed unregistered securities in the form of XRP tokens.
In May 2020, the company Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC filed a new lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that Ripple and its chief Brad Garlinghouse violated federal securities laws.
In turn, Ripple’s lawyers are trying to challenge the allegations, pointing to a lack of grounds on the part of the plaintiffs.
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