Ripple Relocation Out of US on Hold, Firm Looks to Favorable Biden Presidency

Ripple relocation plans for its headquarters out of the United States of America on grounds of regulatory uncertainty may have to wait much longer, at least until Biden’s presidency is underway and the company’s fate is decided by different officials. According to an exclusive report from Coindesk, Ripple’s Chief Executive Officer, Brad Garlinghouse in an interview with CNN’s Julia Chatterley revealed that the company has not made any emphatic decision with respect to the relocation plans.

Ripple has oftentimes been embroiled in a regulatory impasse with US authorities particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it relates with the XRP coin which is closely associated with the company.

“Crypto regulation here in the US is a guessing game – in part as evidenced by the recent [Department of Justice] report which cites eight different groups with regulatory oversight in the US. Some view crypto as a currency, some view crypto as a commodity, some view crypto as property, and some view crypto as a security. We are not looking to avoid the rules. We just want to operate in a jurisdiction where the rules are clear,” a Ripple spokesperson said recently.

The political climate in the United States is gradually changing with Joe Biden coming on as the president-elect. The changes seen in the White House are billed to cascade down to every agency in the coming months or years. While many companies look forward to a favorable regulatory climate, the likes of Ripple look forward to the exit of the current SEC Chair Jay Clayton who has announced he will be concluding his tenure before Joe Biden takes the oath of office. Clayton’s successor may have a positive inclination to Ripple as the company so sincerely desires.

Will Ripple Relocation Favor the Company?

Ripple relocation plans are a relatively new development and the complete profiling of the benefit and impact of such a move has not been duly analyzed. While it is true that other nations have milder and more defined crypto laws or regulations, the impact of the US is far-reaching and may still affect Ripple which comes off as a global payment service firm.

According to Coindesk, the benefits of Ripple’s relocation plans are not yet clear and the likelihood that that will happen is quite slim. Brad Garlinghouse was a generous donor to both the campaigns of Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Should the regulatory tide sweep in favor of campaign donors, then Ripple will have no more worries in the coming administration.

Ripple noted that it has always acted in good faith with regulators across all jurisdictions and it is hoping to do the same with a well-defined structure for the company and its associated innovations in the US. This the company noted will ultimately quell the thoughts of relocation.

“Moving out is not an effort to avoid the jurisdiction of the US. We are a global company, but we will always have jurisdiction of the US,” said Stu Alderoty, Ripple’s General Counsel.

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