Ripple, the $10 billion fintech juggernaut, popularly known for its crypto coin XRP is considering moving its headquarters overseas due to the complexity in U.S regulations affecting Crypto startups.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, in a note to CNBC, disclosed that the U.K. markets watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority doesn’t regard XRP security, he also added that other geopolitical regions had provided similar guarantees.
“What you see in the U.K. is a clear taxonomy, and the U.K.’s FCA took a leadership role in characterizing how we should think about these different assets and their use cases.
“The outcome of that was the clarity that XRP is not a security and is used as a currency. With that clarity, it would be advantageous for Ripple to operate in the U.K,” Garlinghouse said.
In addition to the U.K., Garlinghouse said Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates were also considered.
Why it’s happening; The fintech powerhouse had for months been battling with some crypto investors who accused it of selling unregistered securities and issuing misleading statements about XRP. The company denied the allegations, pushing back on the suggestion XRP qualifies as a security.
That said, the Ripple payments network, RippleNet, is now live in 55 countries including Nigeria, with XRP remittances now live in five continents. RippleNet also stated that its services offering were available in 95 currency pairs, according to the fintech’s redesigned website.
Quick fact; RippleNet is a network of institutional payment-providers that include banks and payment providers that use solutions developed by
- Ripple provides a seamless experience to send money worldwide.RippleNet uses a leverage cutting-edge blockchain technology in streamlining payments services and helps in reducing costs.
- It should also be added that On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), Ripple’s XRP-powered cross-border payments product is available in the US, Mexico, Europe, the Philippines, and Australia.