In brief
- Ripple Executive Chairman bemoaned the state of US regulations toward crypto and crypto companies today.
- He told the LA Blockchain Summit that Ripple is considering a move outside the US.
- He mentioned jurisdictions in Europe and Asia as possibilities.
Ripple Executive Chairman Chris Larsen today said that his company, based in San Francisco, could move abroad if the US doesn't create a regulatory environment that allows cryptocurrency companies to compete globally.
Arguing that the US isn't providing a welcome environment to cryptocurrencies, Larsen said at the LA Blockhain Summit, "To be honest with you, we’re even looking at relocating our headquarters to a much more friendly jurisdiction.”
He pointed to locales in Europe and Asia looking to become "FinTech centers of the world"—naming London, Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan—and eager to create jobs and wealth.
Moreover, with those jurisdictions, he said, "you have the advantage of happening the capital markets, the regulators, and the innovators all in the same city." That's not the case in the US, where New York investors, Washington lawmakers, and Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs "don't understand each other."
Ripple Labs, which created XRP, has been in an ongoing war with aggrieved investors who allege that XRP skirted securities laws. Ripple's experience defending itself in class-action lawsuits no doubt colored Larsen's remarks, as there's no solid crypto regulatory framework for Ripple to rely on.
Speaking to his thoughts on the US regulatory landscape toward cryptocurrency, Larsen said, "The whole tenor continues to be one of frustration that we don't have more clarity and we don't have more of a pro-US approach."
Ripple claims 500 employees across nine global offices, many in the US.