Ripple in Touch With Central Banks as it Looks Beyond US

Brooks Entwistle, Managing Director for APAC and MENA at Ripple, said in a recent interview that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) “are one of the most important and certainly the strongest cases for utility going around.”

The executive touched upon the crypto regulatory landscape in the U.S., its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the future of centrally-backed digital currencies in an interview.

Concerning CBDCs, he said, “There is no question that digital currencies are going to be a part of the landscape going forward, and every country has to have an answer for their own constituents,”

Ripple in Discussion With More Than 20 Central Banks

The executive also revealed that Ripple is in discussion with more than 20 central banks worldwide regarding CBDCs. Notably, CBDCs have created quite a stir in the U.S. Recently, Republican Senator Tom Emmer voiced concern regarding a CBDC to be issued by the Federal Reserve. He consequently proposed the Anti-Surveillance Act as an extension of the right to financial privacy on Feb. 22.

However, the country’s political debates are not limited to CBDCs. The U.S. SEC is clamping down on Web3 businesses while crypto bills are lined up in Congress.

Asia Leads With Crypto Legislation

Entwistle also made a note of how regulatory clarity in Asia is helping them overtake U.S. markets. He believes that building businesses and teams becomes extremely challenging when the “regulation is going to go against you.”

He stated, “We are building quickly and innovation is happening outside the U.S. We, as a company, added 300 people last year, with the majority of them in the international markets. The bulk of our business is outside the U.S. right now. The take-up of some of our most innovative products is outside the U.S.”

Ripple Labs is also in a legal battle with the markets’ regulator for almost two years in the U.S. The Ripple executive sees the case bearing some clarity in the first half 2023. He noted, “We have done all we can on our side. We’ve made our best case. It is now with the judge, and we would hope and expect that in the first half of 2023 there would be some resolution.”

Meanwhile, the crypto winter has not entirely subsided, with Entwistle expecting calmer markers in the second half 2023. Meanwhile, Ripple is expected to further innovation in RippleNet throughout the year. The executive hinted at work around its network, on-demand liquidity, CBDCs, and carbon credit market in 2023.