On Feb. 18, 2020, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain startup Ripple, made a few statements about the present-day state of his company, their native coin XRP, and the enterprise’s plans for 2020.

Surprisingly, Garlinghouse concludes that in the next five years, Ripple wants to be the Amazon of the crypto industry.

Speaking with CNN’S First Move host Julia Chatterley, Brad Garlinghouse said that Ripple had a great year in 2019, which ended with it raising $200million and amassing more than 300 customers.

In his statements, Garlinghouse viewed his company from a much longer-term standpoint. He said that the company’s recent multi-billion dollar valuation had strengthened Ripple’s position as one of the largest fintech companies in the U.S. He also revealed Ripple currently holds over $ 15 billion in XRP.

In the coming months, the crypto startup now plans to work with U.S financial regulators for more clarity. Garlinghouse wishes to see the U.S become a leader in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors, but he understands that won’t happen without proper regulatory frameworks.

Garlinghouse concluded that ultimately there would be no single winner in crypto space, as different digital tokens offer various services to users, so XRP cannot be compared to or BTC or other coins.

Will Ripple Launch IPO?

Despite the bear market, Ripple is still growing and recently hired150 more employees, while many other projects are continually planning significant layoffs.

The Ripple CEO hinted at a future Ripple IPO, although he did not give a precise timeline.

He claimed:

“I don’t think I’ve said go public I think what I said was 2020 will likely have crypto kind of blockchain IPOs (…) I don’t think Ripple will be the first, but we certainly don’t to be the last, so I kind of kept it open.”

However, he shared that IPO would mean more flexibility for the company, which would give them the “strength to do new things,” and grow business like they did last year with a $50 million investment in Moneygram and Mexican exchange Bitso.

Brad Garlinghouse Tackles Central Bank Digital Currencies

Garlinghouse also voiced the opinion that China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is overall healthy for crypto and believes that more governments should embrace crypto and blockchain technology.

Since Ripple is open-source, the CEO is open to the idea of CBDCs launching on its blockchain, potentially leveraging Ripple’s tech for efficient cross-border remittances across diverse banking jurisdiction.

CBDC’s were a heavily discussed topic at the World Economic Forum held in Davos in late January, and many central banks are already researching the viability of launching their own CBDCs. It will be interesting to see if any central banks take Garlinghouse up on the offer.

