by Jude Ayua  

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO Ripple Labs, has shared his thoughts on the proposed US crypto reserve. On 27 January, Garlinghouse posted on X advocating for a diversified crypto reserve that favors other tokens apart from bitcoin (BTC).

“If a govt digital asset reserve is created – I believe it should be representative of the industry, not just one token (whether it be BTC, XRP or anything else)” Garlinghouse wrote.

Garlinghouse outrightly rejects “maximalism,” the idea of preferring more and more of one thing over others. “Some thoughts on maximalism…” Garlinghouse began, “let me say this as clearly as I can – the crypto industry has a real shot, here and now, to achieve the many goals we have in common, IF we work together instead of tearing each other down,” he said.

Garlinghouse disclosed he owns “XRP, BTC, and ETH among a handful of others” and that he has “advocated for a level-playing field, instead of one token versus another.” He concluded that “Maximalism remains the enemy of crypto progress,” expressing his joy for seeing fewer people subscribe to such an “outdated and misinformed” philosophy.

Read also: Trump’s ‘America-first’ crypto reserve: What happens to bitcoin?

A case for XRP? Stakeholders react

Some industry stakeholders on X engaged Garlinghouse’s post with diverse opinions, both in support and against it. Particularly, Garlinghouse’s opponents, who appeared to be BTC advocates, however, shared a different opinion. 

Pierre Rochard said, “Reserves and stockpiles should be strategic based on the needs of the nation aligning with specific properties of assets. They shouldn’t be a DEI hodgepodge of random crypto ticker symbols shilled by industry lobbyists.”

Pierre had previously criticized Ripple for the idea of an “America-first” crypto reserve consisting of American-founded tokens including XRP, which Trump announced shortly before his inauguration. Pierre wrote in an X post on 23 January: 

“The biggest obstacle for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is not the Fed, Treasury, banks, or Elizabeth Warren. It’s Ripple/XRP. They are aggressively lobbying against the SBR by throwing around $millions at politicians, desperately trying to derail it. They did the same to attack bitcoin mining under the Biden administration.”

Another user, Prolific Jointz, commented, “Respectfully, Bitcoin maximalism isn’t about tearing others down—it’s about defending sound money, decentralization, and trustless systems. Bitcoin isn’t competing for ‘representation’ or a ‘level playing field’; it’s in a category of its own, fixing the monetary system.”

It is unclear why Garlinghouse made this post at this time after Trump had already announced the plans for a diversified national crypto reserve. Garlinghouse’s statement appears to be an appeal for XRP, one of the American-founded tokens. 

Notwithstanding Garlinghouse’s personal interests, his appeal validly aligns with Trump’s idea to prioritize American projects. Notably, both Trump and Garlinghouse have not ruled out BTC despite advocating for American-founded tokens. This means a diversified national crypto reserve would favour ‘altcoins’ without prejudicing bitcoin.

Read also: XRP soars despite US SEC’s formal appeal against Ripple.

XRP’s market performance

Ripple’s XRP token plunged earlier in the week of Garlinghouse’s statement to a low of  $2.65 on Monday, 28 January. While his statement may have been insignificant to XRP’s price, it cannot be ruled out completely. The launch of DeepSeek’s AI affected the wider US crypto market including XRP. The token however recovered quickly and is above $3.1. XRP regained its place as the third largest asset by market trading volume after the $TRUMP coin crashed.

Read also: Trump’s ‘America-first’ crypto reserve: What happens to bitcoin?

 

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Jude Ayua is a policy analyst at CAB. A lawyer, Jude is an associate at Infusion Lawyers where he is a member of the Blockchain & Virtual Assets Group. He is also a member of the Policy & Regulations Committee of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN). Jude reports and writes on crypto policy and regulations. jude@infusionlawyers.com