He clarified that Ripple isn’t trying to compete with Bitcoin during a podcast appearance.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse may be a critic of Bitcoin (BTC), but he still wants the original cryptocurrency to succeed in the long run.
Appearing on a Nov. 19 episode of Fortune’s “Brainstorm” podcast, Garlinghouse reportedly said Bitcoin is not competing with Ripple and that he continues to hold the number one cryptocurrency:
“I don’t view what Ripple is doing as somehow competitive with Bitcoin. I want Bitcoin to be successful.”
He implied that, during the next bull market, a bitcoin rally bodes well for other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin has a large gravitational pull on other digital assets, including XRP, due to its sheer market dominance and wider appeal among investors. At last check, Bitcoin’s dominance rate was 66.2%, meaning two-thirds of the total crypto market cap was held in BTC.
During the peak of the altcoin boom in January 2018, Bitcoin’s dominance rate fell to a low of around 32.8%, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Bitcoin dominance has risen steadily over the past six weeks following a series of major price jumps. XRP is also breaking out this week, hitting a high of around $0.3075, according to TradingView data.
Garlinghouse’s positive outlook on Bitcoin comes less than two weeks after the Ripple executive warned corporations against holding the digital currency.
In a Nov. 9 tweet, Garlinghouse implied that buying Bitcoin wasn’t a good way to cozy up to the incoming Biden administration, which has taken a stronger stance on environmental protection. Bitcoin’s resource-draining proof-of-work consensus, meanwhile, is said to be damaging to the environment.
Under Biden’s leadership, publicly-traded companies may have to disclose all of their greenhouse gas-producing activities. For companies like Square and MicroStrategy, who converted a portion of their balance sheet into Bitcoin, that could mean additional reporting requirements.
