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The US has made crypto regulations 'as confusing as possible', says Ripple

As companies like Ripple look to hire and invest abroad, “confusing” regulations in the US will push more crypto companies to leave, the CEO of blockchain services company Ripple told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said: “Europe has really provided leaders and countries like the Emirates … the growth that they’re seeing … even the UK and Singapore – they’re giving clarity on how they’re going to regulate these digital assets.” .

“This also allows entrepreneurs, investors to engage constructively with regulators through the rules of the road,” Garlinghouse said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

“In fact, that’s why you see entrepreneurship and investment flowing to other regions — and certainly Europe has been a significant beneficiary of the confusion in the US,” he added.

His comments come after he announced on Wednesday that he is buying Swiss crypto escrow service Metacon, a company that has been involved in a number of transactions, at a time when US regulators are cracking down on companies such as Ripple and crypto exchange Coinbase.

I think it’s fair to say that the US has made the rules of the road as confusing as possible for the crypto industry. The SEC is really at the forefront of that confusion.

Brad Garlinghouse

CEO, Ripple

The acquisition of Metaco will expand Ripple’s product portfolio and allow it to gain access to an attractive customer base that includes Citi and BNP Paribas.

“We think Metaco is a perfect fit from where we are trying to grow our customers today,” Garlinghouse said.

Crypto companies have threatened to leave the United States in a bid to send a signal to regulators that the country could lose a key technological innovation.

Ripple is fighting a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC accused Ripple, Garlinghouse and company founder Chris Larson of violating securities laws by selling XRP without first registering with the SEC. XRP is the native cryptocurrency on the Ripple network.

Unfortunately [the crackdown] It encouraged companies like Ripple to invest more outside the US.

Brad Garlinghouse

CEO, Ripple

“Unfortunately, that has encouraged companies like Ripple to invest more outside the U.S.,” Garlinghouse said, adding that 95 percent of Ripple’s customers are non-American and that most of Ripple’s hiring this year will be outside the U.S.

Garlinghouse said Ripple has a good financial position. Ripple backed the Metaco acquisition with $250 million from its own balance sheet.

“Ripple has a very strong balance and we’re leaning in and playing offense and this is an example of that,” Garlinghouse said.

Quoting investor Warren Buffett, he said, “Be greedy when others are fearful, and be fearful when others are greedy.”

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On Ripple’s listing plans, Garlinghouse said they are “in no rush to list” and “don’t need to raise additional capital.”

“If we consider this [to list]It will be at a meaningful time and place. “We don’t want to do that unless we feel it will enhance the potential of growing the business and the customer experience,” he added.

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