April 2025 — In a candid and wide-ranging conversation at the 2025 Miami Tech Summit, held at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, James Elias, Managing Partner at Tribest, sat down with Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, to reflect on the seismic shifts in the crypto industry over the past two years. What followed was a thoughtful discussion on leadership, regulation, Ripple’s evolving role in global finance, and how the crypto landscape is maturing.
A Journey from Speculation to Real-World Utility
Kicking off the discussion, Elias noted how Garlinghouse’s role in the industry has evolved. Once a quieter player in the crypto space, Garlinghouse now finds himself — willingly or not — a prominent and respected face of the industry.
Garlinghouse, known for his measured approach, emphasized that Ripple has always been focused on utility rather than hype.
“We started Ripple to solve real problems. Cross-border payments were — and still are — slow, expensive, and prone to error. Our customers are banks and financial institutions. It’s not about meme coins or speculative mania — it’s about infrastructure.”
Ripple’s solutions now go beyond cross-border payments, expanding into crypto custody for top-tier banks such as HSBC and BBVA, and, more recently, launching a stablecoin initiative that quickly gained traction.
Crypto’s Coming-of-Age and the Fall of the Wild West
Reflecting on the tumultuous events of late 2022, including the collapse of FTX and the industry’s regulatory scrutiny, Elias remarked that crypto’s image had been badly tarnished. Garlinghouse agreed — and said that was part of why he and Ripple took a different path.
“It became clear that the industry needed grown-ups in the room,” he said. “We intentionally leaned into that. I don’t love wearing a tie — I live in Miami! But if it helps signal credibility and maturity, then fine. We wanted to show regulators and the public that this isn’t the Wild West.”
Garlinghouse believes that while crypto has suffered from public relations missteps and opportunistic actors, Ripple remained committed to transparency and regulatory engagement.
“We weren’t running from regulation — we were asking for it. But instead of clarity, we got lawsuits.”
A Legal Victory and the Winds of Change
Garlinghouse recounted Ripple’s years-long legal battle with the SEC, which ultimately resulted in a landmark victory that helped clarify how digital assets should be treated under U.S. law.
“We spent $150 million defending ourselves. Not many startups can survive that. But we did it because someone had to stand up and say, ‘Enough.’”
Ripple’s win wasn’t just a legal victory; it shifted the tone in Washington. Garlinghouse noted that crypto has gone from being viewed as a fringe movement to a sector now actively courted by lawmakers.
“Washington is now the center of gravity for crypto globally. And that’s a good thing.”
New Deals, New Frontiers
Just days before the summit, Ripple announced one of the largest acquisitions in digital asset history: a $1.5 billion deal to acquire Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm for institutional crypto players.
“We wouldn’t have done this a year ago,” Garlinghouse said. “But the winds have shifted.”
The deal is part of Ripple’s strategy to build the financial plumbing for large institutional adoption. Garlinghouse believes that if firms like Goldman Sachs and Citadel are going to get into crypto, the infrastructure needs to be world-class.
“Hidden Road has the tech and client base. Ripple has the balance sheet to scale them to the next level.”
A Global Race for Leadership in Crypto Regulation
Despite Ripple’s U.S. roots, Garlinghouse was blunt about how far behind the U.S. has fallen in terms of regulatory clarity.
“Singapore, Dubai, the UK, Japan — they’ve all moved faster. They set clear rules, attracted talent and capital. Meanwhile, in the U.S., we were telling entrepreneurs, ‘Don’t incorporate here.’ That’s crazy.”
But he’s optimistic. Two pieces of legislation — one on stablecoins and another on market structure — are now expected to pass in the coming months.
“If those pass before the summer recess, that’s a huge signal that the U.S. is back in the game.”
From Crypto Bros to Credibility
As the conversation wound down, Elias touched on how the culture of crypto is evolving.
“We’re moving away from the ‘crypto bro’ shouting on Twitter and pumping coins. It’s starting to look and feel more like traditional finance.”
Garlinghouse agreed, calling out the industry’s historical tribalism and infighting as counterproductive.
“I’m not a Bitcoin Maxi, or an ETH Maxi, or even an XRP Maxi. I want the whole industry to grow. A rising tide lifts all boats.”
Looking Ahead
With Ripple continuing to expand globally and the U.S. regulatory climate warming, Garlinghouse is hopeful — and determined.
“Crypto is finally getting the legitimacy it deserves. Now we need to keep building — with integrity, with transparency, and with real impact.”
As the session concluded at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the message was clear: the crypto industry is growing up. And Ripple, under Garlinghouse’s steady hand, intends to lead the next chapter of that story.