Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, has voiced his criticism of United States President Joe Biden for his stance against crypto, which he believes are hindering the nation’s innovation.
Larsen holds the belief that the US no longer leads the global blockchain industry.
US Crypto Policies Are Falling Behind
In a recent Bloomberg interview, Larsen highlighted a perceived lag in the technology hub of the United States. He attributes this the stringent crypto policies implemented by Biden.
Larsen stated,
“Unfortunately, this administration made a really bad call. They pretty much killed San Francisco from being what it was, the blockchain capital of the world.”
Larsen asserts that the US previously held a dominant position in the blockchain industry. Despite initially appearing optimistic about the future, he believes it has experienced a significant decline. “We owned it, and we don’t anymore, because the Biden administration decided, for whatever reason, they wanted to push this industry offshore.”
Larsen explains that London, Singapore, and Dubai have taken the lead as the “global blockchain capitals of the world.”
Larsen’s optimism shone through as he discussed the July 13 ruling, which determined that Ripple’s native token, XRP, is not categorized as a security for retail sales.
He suggests that this unfavorable ruling has created a challenging situation for the SEC, given its recent robust legal actions against crypto firms.
“The SEC lost everything that was important to them, and important to regulation of the industry […] We think that this is really groundbreaking, this is the law of the land. It is actually quite good news for the US spirit on crypto and blockchain policy.”
He further cites the SEC’s latest battle against Grayscale regarding its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) product. The US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale, stating that the SEC was incorrect in rejecting its application based on the grounds it cited. Larsen declared that “the judge really admonished the SEC.”
