KEY POINTS
- Garlinghouse expressed disappointment over the episode's cut of a 2023 court ruling in the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple
- The crypto executive also called out former SEC official John Reed Stark for saying crypto has 'no utility'
- The episode highlighted the massive donations crypto leaders gave to pro-crypto candidates in the elections
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was featured on a Sunday episode of CBS's 60 Minutes, but the cryptocurrency executive wasn't happy about how he claims the network "shockingly left out" some of the critical highs of the fintech firm's legal battle in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case pursued by outgoing Chair Gary Gensler.
The Ripple and crypto feature triggered a red wave in the crypto market in the last 24 hours, affecting not just XRP, but even Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What 60 Minutes Highlighted
60 Minutes kicked off with a focus on the donations "big crypto" made to the political campaigns of candidates during the 2024 U.S. elections.
"They've been investing a whole lot of their own cash to get something," said host Margaret Brennan.
Brad Garlinghouse 60 minute interview.
— Mr. Man (@MrManXRP) December 9, 2024
Full video pic.twitter.com/5qW2MNilHw
The episode went on to note how Ripple, which is overseeing the development of the XRP Ledger, along with other companies, donated over a hundred million dollars to Super PACS that supported both Republican and Democratic pro-crypto candidates.
Garlinghouse acknowledged that he believes the crypto industry did have "an impact" on the outcome of the U.S. election.
When asked about what he thinks of the notion that crypto executives "bought" the election, Garlinghouse reiterated that crypto leaders who supported candidates "educated" voters, and it was still the American voting public that elected their leaders.
Garlinghouse Defends Crypto's 'Reaction'
Garlinghouse and other crypto leaders united to help power the campaigns of President-elect Donald Trump and other candidates who expressed support for the industry.
He reiterated that the move was a "reaction to a war on crypto."
Brennan pressed Garlinghouse, specifically on whether he believes the Fairshake PAC would've existed if the SEC had a different chair. He said he didn't think the PAC would have been organized if outgoing SEC chief Gary Gensler wasn't in the agency's top post.
Former SEC official John Reed Stark also appeared in the episode, saying that people don't talk much about the "dire externalities" within crypto that put investors at risk. "Every single crime you can conceive up is easier to do now, because of crypto," he said.
Not Every Hedge Fund Manager is a Bernie Madoff: Garlinghouse
Brennan also raised the issue of FTX and its disgraced founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, pointing out how SBF committed fraud. The collapse of FTX resulted in some $8 billion of customers' money being wiped out.
Garlinghouse pointed out that using the FTX fiasco to pin down the entire crypto space is like saying every other crypto project is the second FTX.
When the discussion was directed to the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, Garlinghouse revealed that the company had spent over $150 million to defend its case.
He reiterated that unlike how regulators and critics put it that crypto wants to be "de-regulated," the industry has been asking to be regulated with rules that fit the digital assets sector.
Garlinghouse Calls Out 60 Minutes
Following the episode's airing, Garlinghouse took to X to call out the show for "shockingly" leaving out a federal judge's ruling regarding XRP's status as a non-security when sold on exchanges.
Crypto made its debut on @60Minutes tonight – there’s no doubt that these technologies will continue to become more and more mainstream - with influence and reach that will only continue to grow.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) December 9, 2024
A few things I do want to comment on after watching:
I spoke with Margaret…
He also blasted Stark for saying that crypto "has no utility," calling the former SEC official "Gensler's shill."
Stark defended himself, saying he has never met Gensler, and he is actually looking forward to Trump-nominated Paul Atkins taking over the Wall Street regulator once Gensler steps down on Inauguration Day.
"The stark reality is that you executed a brilliant political strategy and achieved an 85% success rate. I may not like it but your Election Day win and extraordinary election track record is not just proven, it's axiomatic," Stark said.
Garlinghouse said he spoke with Brennan for more than 90 minutes, but some crypto users said he still did a great job with the interview, even if the show chose only "sound bites" to use for the episode.
XRP prices are down over 5% in the last 24 hours, but the token was still trading above $2.30 as of early Monday. The XRP Ledger's native cryptocurrency overtook Solana (SOL) and Tether (USDT) last week to complete crypto's Big 3 alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.
