Citibank Debanked Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse Due to Crypto, Exec Says

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has personally been severed from a longtime banking relationship because he's a prominent figure in crypto, he told an audience in Washington on Wednesday.

"Individuals within the crypto industry are being de-banked," he said at DC Fintech Week. "I personally have been de-banked."

Garlinghouse tied his own experience to the wider trend in the U.S. industry that's struggled to maintain banking ties as regulators have cautioned institutions to limit their crypto involvement.

He later added in an interview with CoinDesk that the institution that cut him off recently was Citigroup Inc., with which he'd been a customer for about 25 years, he said. And he added that it's not the only personal banking relationship he's lost because of his role in crypto.

"They said, 'You have five days to move your money," he said. "They were actually super honest. They're like, 'Look, you are a notable person in crypto, and having notable people in crypto, and banking the crypto industry means more scrutiny from federal regulators."

The CEO was highly critical of President Joe Biden's administration in Washington, saying Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has led a "reign of terror," and accusing the U.S. Treasury Department and banking regulator Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of being "hostile" to the industry. He said that whichever way the U.S. presidential elections go next month, the future for crypto policy will be better.

"No matter what happens, we're going to see a reset," he said.

He also said that an exchange-traded fund (ETF) pegged to the price of XRP was "inevitable" during his remarks.

Garlinghouse and Ripple have been among the chief backers of the Fairshake political action committee, the pro-crypto group that has been among the dominant campaign-finance forces in the 2024 elections. Apart from personally supporting the political opponent of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), he isn't endorsing either major U.S. political party and said he was wearing a purple tie on Wednesday for a reason.

The primary indicator of the next administration's crypto stance will be who the president appoints at agencies such as the SEC, Treasury, OCC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

"It'll be telling as to what the direction of travel is for the next four years," Garlinghouse said. "No matter what, we're going to end up in a better place." "When we look back on this period of time in the United States as it relates to crypto, it's going to look like a speed bump," he said.

Still, when asked what advice he'd give to a crypto startup right now, he said they should incorporate outside the U.S. "I hate saying that," he said. "I'll be honest: I grew up in Kansas. I'm a pro-U.S. guy."

But he said there's too much uncertainty about protecting a company from being sued by regulators in the U.S., as Ripple was by the SEC.

A Citi spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

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