Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has publicly responded to recent remarks by Elon Musk concerning XRP. During a town hall discussion in Pittsburgh as part of Donald Trump’s election campaign, Elon Musk—the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX—addressed XRP for the first time, as Bitcoinist reported. An attendee, seemingly an XRP supporter, asked Musk: “Do you envision the XRP Ledger being incorporated into financial institutions in the future?”
Musk replied: “I do think that cryptocurrency is an interesting and probably valuable bulwark against centralized control.” Seeking to clarify his position, he added, “This is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP.” Musk further elaborated, “But I do think crypto by its very nature helps with individual freedom.”
In response, Garlinghouse took to X to share his perspective: “Voters care about crypto—they care about XRP—it’s not a niche issue. They want real policies that drive innovation and create jobs. Candidates that ignore crypto and blockchain risk a serious loss in support from a growing, informed voter base.”
Ripple Leadership Divided Over Trump Or Harris
The exchange underscores the increasing significance of crypto in the upcoming US election. Notably, Elon Musk has become a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. According to Musk, the upcoming US election could be “the last election” if Trump doesn’t win.
Meanwhile, Ripple’s leadership appears divided in their political affiliations. In September, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen made three separate donations totaling nearly $10 million to Future Forward, the super PAC supporting Kamala Harris, as revealed on Monday. These cash donations were in addition to the $1 million in XRP he donated to the PAC in August.
Larsen explained his support via X: “It’s time for the Democrats to have a new approach to tech innovation, including crypto. I believe Kamala Harris will ensure that American technology dominates the world, which is why I’m donating $10M in XRP in support of her.”
Garlinghouse seemingly disagreed with Larsen, but emphasized the need for bipartisan support for crypto innovation: “I respect Chris’ (and everyone’s!) right to support whomever they think is best to lead the US We need to immediately change course from this administration’s misguided war on crypto.”
Meanwhile Garlinghouse also stressed that Ripple will “continue to engage with both Democrats and Republicans in the final days of the campaigns (and after the election) to promote pro-crypto policies. It’s not about party lines; it’s about championing policies that drive blockchain and crypto innovation.”
At press time, XRP traded at $0.5329.
