Ripple’s Open Letter To Congress Asks Lawmakers To Support Cryptocurrency

Typically and technically we should always see US lawmakers be quite bearish on cryptocurrency. Given that the digital asset class takes their power of the stat away from them, this makes sense. But due to the recent announcement by Facebook in regards to its upcoming Libra stablecoin, regulatory bodies are getting skittish on what it might mean and if that weren’t enough, in what seems to be an attempt to separate Ripple from the Libra worries, Ripple executives have sent an open letter the Congress.

The open letter, written by Brad Garlinghouse, (CEO of Ripple) and Chris Larsen (Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Ripple), spoke of the uncertainty faced by digital currencies after the disagreements between Facebook and lawmakers. 

In the letter, the two first ask Congress to not “paint us with a broad brush”, presumably talking about cryptocurrency as an industry rather than just Ripple themselves. They then go on to say that they have been responsible for blockchain tech innovators working under both the United States and international law. 

The two went onto say:

“For centuries, governments have been well suited for the job because paramount to the acceptance of any currency is trust.  Companies like ours in the United States, and others abroad, employ these innovations in partnership with regulated financial institutions to enable the world to move money across borders like it already moves information—efficiently, reliably, inexpensively. In our view, digital currencies have the opportunity to complement existing currencies like the US dollar—not replace them.”

The two went onto ask congress to adopt blockchain for their benefit. They say that the sheer potential of the technology could stimulate economic growth and tools of financial inclusion. Furthermore, they ask that the United States supports cryptocurrency regulation without killing off US blockchain startups working as per the law. 

The pair go on to say that the legislature should classify cryptocurrencies by their differences. As reported by Ethereum World News, the SEChas classified most crypto as securities or investment contracts. This has not gone down well with most blockchain-based startups, with startups like the social network, Kik launching their own fight against the Commission.