Ripple CEO Thinks Blockchain is Hype, and Bitcoin is Controlled by the Chinese

As part of his speech at the 2018 Stifel Cross Sector Insight Conference, the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse made a few statements regarding Ripple, blockchain technology and Bitcoin.

When asked about the potential and future of bitcoin, Garlinghouse answered that while multiple prominent people may be bullish about bitcoin’s future and its use as a mass-adopted, worldwide digital currency, he doesn’t see things that way. The Ripple CEO explained that: “I think that’s absurd. I don’t think that any major economy will allow that to happen. By the way, it doesn’t make sense.”

Before dwelling into some of the other statements, it would be relevant to give some background information on the Ripple CEO. Brad Garlinghouse has held the CEO position since the year of 2015, and he has an extensive background in technology, having worked with companies such as Yahoo, AOL, SBC Communications, Ventures Home Network and more. During the last couple of months, he’s been trying to separate Ripple as a digital currency from the company he runs, thus leading to some interesting arguments.

For instance, when asked about blockchain technology, he answered: There’s a lot of blockchain craziness, but there are three indicators of market winners. Blockchain will not disrupt banks […] it will play an important role in the way our system works. It’s a short-sighted view.”

For those who do not know, Ripple represents a big competitor to bitcoin, yet there are several key differences between the two coins. Ripple is designed to be centralized, and operated by banks, whereas bitcoin isn’t. Because of this: “This is how liquidity will be managed in the future. Bitcoin today takes 45 minutes to settle a transaction. Banks will use what is efficient and cheaper. And if you deliver a better product at a better price […] they will use it“, Garlinghouse said.

The Ripple CEO also shared his views on how bitcoin may reportedly be controlled by China, granted “Bitcoin is really controlled by China. There are four miners in China that control over 50% of Bitcoin. How do we know that China won’t intervene? How many countries want to use a Chinese-controlled currency? It’s just not going to happen.”

Despite this aspect, Garlinghouse did confirm that he does indeed own bitcoin, and that only time will tell how bitcoin-based investments will play out in the future.