Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has urged the XRP ecosystem to focus on the big picture rather than engaging in an unreasonable rivalry with Bitcoin.
Ripple is building a transformative ecosystem, and Garlinghouse is stressing collaboration rather than competition. In his speech at the recently concluded XRP Las Vegas conference, he noted that Ripple is building an ecosystem that will transform the entire banking system, which should be a delight to the community.
“We Underestimate How Big That Is”: Ripple CEO
Ripple modeled its business to bridge the gap between the global financial institutions and blockchain technology. While the nascent industry focuses on removing monetary centralization and control tied to banks, Ripple’s innovation lies in involving them in the future of finance.
The private firm aims to innovate cross-border payments by bringing them on-chain, thereby making remittance seamless and efficient. This eradicates the need for intermediaries, pre-funding, and slow global fund transfer.
Citing the company’s CTO David Schwartz, Garlinghouse noted that this ploy would “rewire the entire banking system,” making Ripple a giant in the cross-border payment and remittance business.
Remarkably, this initiative should be sufficient to drive XRP adoption, and the CEO emphasized that it should be a big enough appeal to the ecosystem’s enthusiasts.
“We underestimate how big that change is and how profound it is,” the Ripple CEO said, stressing that it would all make sense if the community looks back in 10 to 20 years from now.
Nonetheless, prominent XRP community figure Vale has suggested that it would not take up to ten years before this revolution comes to full effect. In a tweet, he argued that Ripple is already changing the global financial system NOW.
Indeed, Ripple has made considerable progress in pushing its business mainstream, so much so that the US Faster Payment Council (FPC) mentioned them as a crucial firm that would drive a swift, cheap, and transparent cross-border payment system. Morgan Stanley has also identified the fintech as a strong competitor for SWIFT, which handles over $5 trillion in daily transactions.
Collaboration Over Competition
Meanwhile, Garlinghouse called for collaboration with not just the Bitcoin ecosystem but the entire crypto landscape. Notably, he is already putting his words into action with a teased partnership between Ripple and Cardano.
The CEO stated that blockchain technology is not a zero-sum game and XRP would thrive even if Bitcoin does. He stressed growing the whole pie and ensuring that cryptocurrencies gain the mainstream adoption that they deserve.
“…and we get there by being collaborative and working together and not against each other,” he added.
Interestingly, Garlinghouse has repeatedly stressed that Bitcoin is not XRP’s enemy. For the uninitiated, he donated the Skull of Satoshi to proponents of the leading cryptocurrency as a peace offering for the long-standing feud between the two communities.
