Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated at a recent conference that crypto firms should be afforded the same advantages as traditional financial institutions when complying with identical laws and regulations.
During his remarks at DC Fintech Week on Wednesday, Garlinghouse mentioned that it was improbable for regulators such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to retract their policies following the potential exit of Chair Paul Atkins or US President Donald Trump, who appointed the agency’s leader.
Nevertheless, he also condemned the inequality in the treatment of crypto firms compared to traditional financial entities, like banks.
“One of the things I would urge everyone to do, including reporters and others, is to hold traditional finance accountable for, yes — I concur that the crypto sector should meet the same standards regarding AML [Anti-Money Laundering], KYC [Know Your Customer], OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] compliance: Yes, yes, yes,” said Garlinghouse. “And we should be granted comparable access to infrastructure like a Fed master account. You can’t endorse one and then act against the other.”
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As the regulatory landscape under Trump and SEC leadership appears to be becoming more lenient towards digital assets, companies like Ripple face the challenge of balancing growth and their roles in the sector.
Garlinghouse mentioned in July that Ripple had sought a national bank charter — following stablecoin issuer Circle — while Coinbase has been pursuing a National Trust Company Charter.
In light of the applications, numerous US banking groups wrote to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency urging the regulator to delay any decisions. The banks argued that granting a charter to companies like Ripple or Circle “would create significant policy and procedural concerns.”
“It’s been slightly discouraging to see some traditional banks begin to lobby against initiatives like that,” Garlinghouse said on Wednesday, referring to the charter. “If we desire increased stability and clear regulations, having a Fed master account is indeed beneficial to that […] held to the same regulatory standards as a bank.”
On Wednesday, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reportedly sanctioned a charter for Erebor, a financial services company backed by billionaire Peter Thiel. Although it may take months before Erebor can start operations, this decision could help fulfill the demand for banks to provide services to crypto firms and users.
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