Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse Asks, ‘Who Is XRP’s CEO?’

At the D.C. Fintech Week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse once again addressed one of the biggest misconceptions in the crypto industry, that Ripple controls XRP. He said that while Ripple is a company with its own leadership, XRP operates as an open-source technology supported by a wide community of independent developers, companies, and users.

Garlinghouse pointed out that many people mistakenly treat XRP as a company with a single leadership figure. Instead, it functions through a decentralized ecosystem where hundreds of independent builders contribute to the XRP Ledger.

“People say things like, ‘Well, XRP has a CEO.’ I’m like who is it? Ripple has a CEO. That’s me. But there are scores, if not hundreds, of other CEOs building around the XRP ecosystem.,” he said.

Ripple’s Legal Fight and Industry Role

Garlinghouse also shed light on Ripple’s lengthy legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company spent nearly $150 million defending itself to achieve legal clarity that XRP is not a security. He said that Ripple fought the case not only for its own sake but also for broader regulatory understanding within the crypto industry.

Ripple continues to support the development of a transparent, multi-chain ecosystem and remains a major investor in blockchain innovation. Garlinghouse reaffirmed that Ripple’s goal is to drive real-world utility through crypto, not control it.

Open-Source Governance and Independence

The XRP Ledger operates under a governance system that reflects its open-source nature. Network changes and amendments require approval from a large majority of validators, not Ripple alone. There have been cases where Ripple opposed certain proposals that were still approved by the community, showing that the company does not control XRP’s direction.

This governance model has been one of XRP’s key strengths, allowing it to evolve independently of Ripple’s internal decisions while maintaining security and decentralization.