Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse thinks macro factors could double the overall crypto market cap by the end of 2024.

Garlinghouse told CNBC recently that regulatory momentum and the newly approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could drive a massive surge in crypto prices.

“I’ve been around this industry for a long time, and I’ve seen these trends come and go. I’m very optimistic. I think the macro trends, the big-picture things like the ETFs, they’re driving for the first time real institutional money.

You’re seeing that drives demand, and at the same time demand is increasing, and supply is decreasing. That doesn’t take an economics major to tell you what happens when supply contracts and demand expands.”

Garlinghouse says the overall crypto market cap is “easily predicted to double” by the end of 2024. The current market cap sits at $2.8 trillion but was hovering around $2.6 trillion when the CEO made his comments, according to CoinGecko.

Garlinghouse also predicts the US crypto sector will receive more regulatory clarity this year.

“The US is still the largest economy in the world, and it’s unfortunately been one of the more hostile crypto markets. And I think that’s going to start to change, also.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its aiding and abetting charges against Ripple’s top executives.

In a letter to Judge Analisa Torres, the SEC notified the court that it is dropping its charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen.

The charges were related to the SEC’s original lawsuit from 2020 that alleged Ripple issued XRP, the native asset of the XRP ledger, as an unregistered security. In July, the courts decided that the firm’s programmable sales of the asset were not securities transactions.

In a new press release from Ripple, the company describes the SEC’s move as a “stunning capitulation” by the US government.

Says Garlinghouse,

“For nearly three years, Chris and I have been the subject of baseless allegations from a rogue regulator with a political agenda… Instead of looking for the criminals stealing customer funds on offshore exchanges that were courting political favor, the SEC went after the good guys – along with our entire company of innovators and entrepreneurs – who are building a regulated business based in the US. We look forward to the day this chapter is closed once and for all, now that the SEC has dropped the curtain on their absurd theatrics against Chris and me.”

Ripple says that due to the regulatory confusion that the SEC has created in its “misguided quest for power,” crypto innovation is being pushed out of the US, and 90% of the company’s business is now outside of the US.

Meanwhile, Larsen says that the SEC’s decision to drop its charges against the executives helped legally vindicate them against the regulator’s political agenda to “suffocate crypto in America.”

“It is a travesty that we were forced to defend ourselves from an ill-advised attack that was flawed from the day it was filed. While justice ultimately prevailed, the government’s actions that led to this point raise questions about the origin and motivation of this lawsuit. It is an abuse by the administrative state that politically connected special interests, with clear and proven conflicts of interest, were able to drag our names through the mud in an attempt to ruin us personally and destroy a company so many have worked so hard, for so long to build.”

XRP rose 7% following the news and is trading at $0.52 at time of writing.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Grayscale Investments CEO, Michael Sonnenshein, highlighted a potential negative outcome for the United States economy if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to take a one-by-one approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry.

During a recent interview with Fox Business, Sonnenshein expressed that the SEC could drive crypto firms out of the country by constantly resorting to enforcement actions against the industry.

“If every crypto issue needs to go to a court of law, then as a country, we are squashing the innovation taking place here,” Sonnenshein stated.

Sonnenshein reiterated the industry needs distinct definitions for crypto commodities and crypto securities, as well as clearer regulatory guidelines for stablecoins. 

He believes this will prevent businesses from relocating outside the U.S. Sonnenshein stated:

“Adding further clarity to this would ensure that companies and people working on crypto don’t leave the U.S. because our regulatory environment is hostile towards the asset class but instead embraces it.”

Likewise, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse echoed similar comments prior to the ruling of Ripple’s partial victory against the SEC, which was decided on July 13.

On June 17, Garlinghouse expressed that the SEC is “looking to kill” innovation and the cryptocurrency industry in the U.S. He noted that Ripple’s lawsuit conclusion is just the start of many other cases.

“Ultimately as our law suit comes to a close, for so many others its just starting, so the fight for clarity has to continue,” Garlinghouse stated.

Related: SEC decision on Bitcoin ETFs won’t leave out Wall Street giants

Sonnenshein remains optimistic about U.S. Congress’ ongoing efforts to provide regulatory clarity for the industry.

“A lot of this legislation that this congress could very well pass, could give the industry the actual clarity it needs to move forward in a way that embraces crypto” Sonnenshein stated.

On July 31, Cointelegraph reported that the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) approved the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act with a 35-15 vote.

The act aims to establish registration rules for crypto firms under the jurisdiction of either the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the SEC.

While Sonnenshein is confident in Congress’ direction, he believes that the SEC should shift its focus.

He explained that the SEC assessing the wrong criteria when determining which Bitcoin ETF should be introduced to the market.

“When I think about the process that the SEC should be untaking here, it’s really not to pick winners and losers, it is to ensure that all the right disclosures are put out there for investors.”

On Aug. 11, the SEC delayed its decision on the outcome of the spot Bitcoin ETF proposed by ARK Investment Management.

After its publication in the Federal Register, the SEC initiated a public comment period for the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.

This marks the most recent postponement in the regulatory decision-making process regarding the acceptance a spot crypto ETF in the U.S.

Magazine: SBF ordered to jail, Bitcoin ETF delayed and SEC to appeal Ripple case: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 6-12