Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse clears the air – ‘Not anti-Bitcoin’

• Ripple CEO slammed claims of being ‘anti-Bitcoin.’
• XRP’s unique address activity jumped 6X, reinforcing strong market interest. 

For the first time, Ripple [XRP] CEO Brad Garlinghouse has publicly refuted recent claims that suggested he was against Bitcoin. On the sideline of the Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in New York, Garlinghouse stated, 

“I don’t think I ever tried being anti-Bitcoin.’ 

The executive clarified that his previous comment on ‘Bitcoin being controlled by China’ was linked to the country’s dominance in BTC mining at that time.

However, he noted that it was ‘no longer the case’ and ‘good’ for the industry. 

Even so, he blamed Ripple’s ‘anti-Bitcoin’ ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ on BTC maxis. 

XRP vs. BTC

Part of the claims emerged from internal email reports that allegedly indicated Ripple’s stance on ‘Bitcoin being control by China.’ 

Source: X

Additionally, some influential Bitcoin investors, including Strike’s Jack Mallers, publicly stated that Ripple tried to undermine the U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve.   

In his defense, Garlinghouse bashed out his critics, and stated, 

“Maximalism remains the enemy of crypto progress, and I’m very glad to see fewer and fewer folks ascribe to this outdated and misinformed thinking.”

In a separate Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse projected that spot XRP ETFs would be ‘live’ in the second half of 2025. As of this writing, prediction site Polymarket priced an 82% chance of XRP ETF approval this year. 

Source: XRP/BTC, TradingView

That said, XRP was amongst the top altcoins that still held its post-US election gains. It was up 380% since last November’s upswing.

Compared to BTC, it was up 288% against the king coin. Simply put, XRP investors outperformed BTC counterparts over the same period. 

Although the XRP/BTC ratio was at its multi-year channel range-high and resistance, XRP still exhibited a bullish outlook. 

Source: Santiment

Per Santiment, XRP’s recent price increase was marked by massive accumulation and 6X unique addresses being created in March.  

 “Wallets with at least 1M $XRP now hold 46.4B coins, as they have accumulated 6.5% more in just the past 2 months alone.” 

Simply put, holders expected an extra rally for XRP. At the time of writing, the altcoin was valued at $2.48 and was still in a downtrend formed from last December. 

Source: XRP/USDT, TradingView