According to U.Today, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has issued a warning about Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, during a recent conversation with Chris Vasquez, the host of 'World Class'. Garlinghouse stated, 'The US government is going after Tether. That is clear to me.' He also noted that he views Tether as a crucial part of the ecosystem, but finds it difficult to predict the exact impact it will have. Tether's flagship USDT stablecoin is currently valued at $111 billion.
Garlinghouse also shared his experiences as Ripple's CEO, recalling his exposure to Bitcoin around 2012. He was initially skeptical of the idea that cryptocurrency could replace banks, which is why Ripple's approach of combining traditional finance with cryptocurrencies appealed to him. He had the opportunity to work at Uber, but chose to take risks with Ripple, intrigued by the 'audacious' concept of the Internet of Value and potential use cases for the XRP token.
However, being at the helm of Ripple since 2016 has been a 'lonely' experience for Garlinghouse, as he does not have peers like he did at Yahoo. He also admitted that being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was a 'pretty dark time' for Ripple, but it brought the team together as they were transparent about the developments in the legal battle.
Garlinghouse is convinced that the SEC will not succeed in curtailing the crypto industry and views the current regulatory pressure as merely a bump in the road for the crypto market. He also mentioned that he does not trade crypto due to the difficulty in predicting specific timelines. When asked about potential 'black swan' events that could affect the industry, Garlinghouse did not see quantum computing as a threat to crypto.
