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Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, would “certainly welcome” an exchange traded fund (ETF) linked to the crypto, XRP. In an interview with Bloomberg on February 20, Garlinghouse said the ETF makes sense for the XRP community overall. However, Garlinghouse pointed out that it is inevitable that multiple ETFs will emerge for different tokens, saying,

There will be other ETFs… And so I think we will see other ETFs; when we will see them is hard to predict.

While expressing a positive sentiment for such a product, Garlinghouse likened ETFs to the early days of the stock market. He says that, back in the day, diversification was not only a strategy but a means to manage risk exposures. The Ripple CEO believes ETFs fit this standard as the cryptocurrency investment landscape evolves and diversification becomes part of it.

Asked if Ripple was in talks with BlackRock for the XRP ETF, Garlinghouse declined to comment. This comes after, in November 2023, speculations grew that BlackRock was exploring an XRP ETF. However, the Ripple CEO highlighted that such a product makes sense for the XRP community overall.

Garlinghouse expressed optimism over XRP’s role as a payment asset, noting its fast, efficient, and low-cost transactions as key to the adoption. He acknowledged the impacts surrounding the case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on XRP. However, he says the headwinds have abated while stressing the need for utility cryptocurrencies that solve real-world problems.

The sector needs clear regulations

Garlinghouse did not hide his disappointment with the SEC’s enforcement-style regulations in the crypto sector. He particularly criticised the regulator in Ripple’s case and after the agency was forced to approve the spot Bitcoin ETFs after a court battle.

Nonetheless, Garlinghouse says the approval of the spot ETFs is positive as it makes the markets safer. The Ripple CEO also signalled the need for further regulations to give the sector clarity. He predicts regulations for stablecoins to come as early as 2024.

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