In 2024, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donated nearly $12 million to the Harris campaign in an attempt to influence cryptocurrency policy under the then-potential Democratic administration. This sparked rumors that Trump was opposed to Ripple's blockchain, intended to be used for transactions by financial institutions.
Reports on Ripple's relationship with President Trump are mixed. While Ripple's general counsel denies any conflict, some journalists suggested that Trump eluded to the fact that he would not support those who campaigned against him in the past. This wouldn't be a surprising stance the new president could take, given his reputation for being a tough negotiator and holding grudges.
Subscribe to our newsletter
The best articles of the week, directly delivered into your mailbox.
Trump and Ripple
In a response to reports suggesting a conflict between Donald Trump and Ripple over political donations, Ripple's Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, dismissed the claims as "pure fiction". The original "insider source" has since been removed, suggesting the claims werde false. Ripple also supported Trump's $200 million inauguration fund with $5 million in XRP. According to statements, Ripple's political contributions were not party specific, and are aimed at promoting favorable crypto policies across party lines.
On January 6 Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and General Counsel Alderoty Stuart attended a private dinner with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, which Garlinghouse described as a "strong start to 2025". Additionally, both attended Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025, reflecting the effort to engage with the new administration.
Great dinner last night with @realDonaldTrump & @s_alderoty.
Strong start to 2025! pic.twitter.com/UjM6lahUG4
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 8, 2025
Ripple's bipartisanship and the US crypto reserve
Regardless of political donations, the outlook for Ripple and many other US-based crypto companies is indeed very positive. The Trump administration has plans to use seized bitcoin to create a crypto reserve, with the Lummis bill proposing a one million bitcoin reserve. Further positive signals come from Gary Gensler's temporary successor Mark Uyeda. He is likely to be replaced later by Paul Atkins, who is known for his supportive views on digital assets. This could open the path for an XRP ETF in the US.
We are so back. Here's a massive list of all the current digital asset ETF filings that I'm aware of: pic.twitter.com/npHuTmox5K
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 21, 2025
