Ripple Will Look Beyond US For Bulk of Its Workforce

If you want to work for Ripple, your chances are better outside the U.S.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television Wednesday (Sept. 13) at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company plans to conduct 80% of its hiring from countries he argues do a better job at regulating cryptocurrency.

“It’s super frustrating that you see markets like we have here in Singapore…where the governments are partnering with the industry, and you’re seeing leadership providing clear rules, and you’re seeing growth,” he said. “And frankly that’s why Ripple is hiring there.”

Garlinghouse’s comments put him in the company of a number of other crypto executives who have turned their attention to overseas markets as the industry continues to battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, claiming the company had failed to register its XRP token as a security. The company — and perhaps the industry — won a victory in July when a judge ruled that XRP is a security when sold to institutional investors, although not to the general public.

“I have heard from hundreds of people throughout the industry, there’s just broad enthusiasm and excitement, this is the first time the SEC lost a crypto case,” Garlinghouse said at the time. “The SEC has been a bully.”

And although his company has spent more than $100 million on legal fees and the SEC is working to appeal the ruling, Garlinghouse was still bullish about his chances during the Wednesday Bloomberg interview. 

“You have a government that has unlimited resources to keep fighting a fight they’ve already lost,” he told the news outlet. 

Meanwhile, PYMNTS spoke earlier this week with Brad Chase, head of liquidity products at Ripple, about the way eCommerce companies and merchants are turning to crypto to stand out within an increasingly crowded digital landscape.

“Crypto is a digitally native global asset,” Chase said. “And if you think about this new digitally native, tech-savvy customer segment that is emerging, they hold crypto, and they want to use it for payments.

“To be a player in this space and to tap into these new markets, you want to be able to accept those assets as part of your merchant or payment flows,” he added. “It’s a way that [merchants] can differentiate and show they’re leaning into innovation as a brand by being not just where their customers are right now, but where they will be tomorrow.”