Ripple CEO sounds off on Bitcoin, Libra and blockchain balderdash

Bitcoin and XRP are not competitors, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a Fortune interview this week.

The former is a store of value or “digital gold,” while XRP is a “bridge currency” that enables an efficient solution for fiat-to-fiat transfers, he argued. “I own Bitcoin, I’m long Bitcoin. I think Bitcoin is a store of value and people hold it.”

Garlinghouse went on to state that there will not be one single cryptocurrency to “rule them all”. And he also noted that there is “a lot of bullshit in the blockchain and crypto market.” By way of example, he flagged up a recent CNBC article entitled ‘Facebook Launches Cryptocurrency’. Facebook has done nothing of the sort, Garlinghouse pointed out. Rather the social media giant has announced plans to do so in a year from now.

Be afraid, Ripple, be very afraid

Ripple should be losing sleep over Facebook’s Libra currency as it will do away with the need for hundreds of altcoins, including XRP, according to crypto analyst Max Keiser.

In a tweet dated 7th June, he said: “The altcoin apocalypse is nigh. This will drive Bitcoin higher as BTC competes with gold, not fiat”. Crypto payments ventures could also be wiped out, he added.

Scott Thompson

Scott has been working in technology and business journalism for nearly 20 years, with a focus on FinTech, retail, payments and disruptive technology. He has been Editor of such titles as FStech, Retail Systems and IBS Journal and also contributed to the likes of Retail Technology Innovation Hub, PaymentEye, bobsguide, Essential Retail, Open Banking Hub, TechHQ and Internet of Business.