Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, has opined that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple (XRP) are not competing with each other. Furthemore, Garlinghouse summarized the main differences between two major cryptocurrencies, pointing out that Bitcoin is a store of value and referred to as “digital gold,” while XRP is a “bridge currency” that facilitates a competent solution for fiat-to-fiat remittance.
Garlinghouse pointed out the disparities between Bitcoin and XRP in the way of transaction costs, highlighting that Ripple can facilitate a money transfer for a fraction of a cent, while transactions using Bitcoin can cost about $2.30 on average.
Still, such a difference “does not mean that Bitcoin is gonna fail or something.” The CEO further stated that he “[does] not view them as competitive.” Garlinghouse stated that he believes that there will never be a situation where a single cryptocurrency will monopolize or rule over every other cryptos, implying that each crypto will solve specific needs.
To strengthen his argument, Garlinghouse stated “I own bitcoin, I’m long bitcoin. I think Bitcoin is a store of value and people hold it.”
The CEO of Ripple also explained his position towards the prevailing scenario in the crypto markets. He said that there is “a lot of bullshit in blockchain and crypto market,” and that has made it difficult for the industry to segregate the signal from the “noise.”
Garlinghouse also pointed to the hype created by media over the launch of Libra, a stablecoin project, by social media giant Facebook. In particular, Garlinghouse pointed to a CNBC article titled “Facebook Launches Cryptocurrency,” which highlights the fact that Facebook has not introduced any cryptocurrency but plans to do so in a year from now. Earlier, Garlinghouse felt that the cryptocurrency venture by the US investment banking behemoth JP Morgan Chase “misses the point.”
Of late, Ripple joined hands with MoneyGram, a renowned payment processing service, to build cross-border payments and also perform Forex settlements with crypto currencies. As a part of the initiative, MoneyGram is allowed to exchange its equity in return for $50 million from Ripple.
