Ripple, whose business is built on providing financial institutions with an infrastructure to facilitate international payments and currency trades, has always been a more likely ally to governments and regulators than most other major blockchain projects and cryptocurrencies. Seeking to enhance rather than disrupt the operations of the legacy financial industry, the company has been long stressing the importance of a clear-cut policy framework for the banks to fully reap the fruits of blockchain-powered innovation.
The regulatory pushback against Libra, Facebook’s recently announced cryptocurrency, has apparently spurred Ripple’s determination to publicly take an even more pro-market-regulation stance. Late July saw the company’s leadership publish an open letter to the United States Congress (which also appeared as a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal), urging lawmakers to differentiate between the industry players and “not paint us with a broad brush,” but to promote regulation that recognizes fundamental differences between various actors in the space. In taking this potentially controversial step, what message did the creators of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, want to convey?