After the recent statement of Steven Mnuchin, the secretary of the US Treasury about siding with president Trump regarding cryptocurrencies and calling crypto a national security threat and expressing his concerns about Facebook’s Libra, Brad Garlinghouse, the Ripple CEO, has had a discussion with him.
“This is indeed a national security issue,” Sec. Mnuchin said on the need for more regulation in the crypto space. “We will not allow digital asset service providers to operate in the shadows.” https://t.co/03CEzStDZE pic.twitter.com/zykiOLkm96
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) July 15, 2019
The head of the crypto giant has shared the outcome and his thoughts in a series of recent tweets.
Just watched @stevenmnuchin1’s press conference on regulating crypto and have personally spoken to him on this topic. I’ve also been ruminating on @realdonaldtrump’s tweets on crypto last week. (1/7)
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 15, 2019
Collaboration with the financial system is a priority
Garlinghouse says he agrees with Mnuchin who doubts that cryptocurrency can ever replace fiat money, such as USD or EUR, at least while Garlinghouse is alive.
The recent critics of Bitcoin and crypto expressed by the US president Trump has got the head of Ripple to long and hard thinking.
The results of this thinking seems to be the thought that lacks any innovation – Garlinghouse believes that regulation of crypto and blockchain is the key to further development of the industry.
For the industry to succeed, we need to work with regulators and within policies. Full stop.
It is crucial to realize, he adds that a lot of legal businesses are working around crypto assets and the industry has changed a lot since Silk Road was shut down.
But as Mnuchin indicated, the entire crypto industry should not be painted with one broad brush - it has come a long way since the days of Silk Road. For the industry to succeed, we need to work with regulators and within policies. Full stop. (3/7)
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 15, 2019
I hope there is no “ignoring, laughing or fighting” as it relates to regulation of crypto. If we want to maximize progress forward, it’s about working with the existing financial system - not against it. (6/7)
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 15, 2019
Foreign interests may take control over the industry in the US
Further, Brad Garlinghouse warns that even though the crypto industry must be regulated appropriately, it must not be ignored, otherwise lawmakers can run a risk of foreign interests taking control over it in the US.
If not, we risk squashing innovation here in the US, and letting foreign interests take control of this new sector of our global economy. (7/7)
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 15, 2019
