Ripple CEO Hits Out at Reports Claiming Firm Is Pivoting From Interbank Payments
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse (Credit: Zack Seward/CoinDesk archives)
The CEO of Ripple has firmly criticized the Financial Times for saying the creator of the third-largest cryptocurrency was moving away from wholesale cross-border payments.
- On Twitter late Thursday, CEO Brad Garlinghouse said “Ripple has absolutely no plans to ‘reset’ our strategy” and that banks around the world were already using the XRP token as a cross-border payment solution.
- The FT reported Thursday that Ripple was ditching its old solely bank-focused strategy for a more diversified approach – a platform offering payment services for financial institutions and everyday consumers.
- Quoting Garlinghouse, the FT said Ripple would use its XRP token hoard to create whole new use cases and become the “Amazon of the cryptocurrency world.”
- Ripple’s primary aim has been its blockchain interbank settlement layer, which makes cross-border transactions cheaper and faster than traditional wire transfers. Clients can optionally convert fiat currencies into XRP.
- But the FT said its biggest partner, the Spanish bank Santander, recently decided against using XRP for its cross-border solution, supposedly because it wasn’t sufficiently traded in some of its key markets.
- CoinDesk had approached Ripple for comment but hadn’t received a response by press time.
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