Ripple CEO:  Facebook responsible for all the Libra criticism and blowback

• CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that Libra was going too far by saying that it was going to become a new currency.
• Garlinghouse highlighted that cryptocurrencies should complement fiat currencies and not threaten them.

Facebook’s Libra has been receiving a lot of criticism and hostility from regulators around the world. CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, said that Facebook was responsible for this negative feedback. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, he said that Facebook “went too far” in its whitepaper by starting that Libra was going to become a “new currency.” He feels that in their zeal to replace banks, Libra hasn’t met any anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations yet in the US. He added:  

“I think the US dollar works pretty well. We don’t need a new fiat currency.”

Garlinghouse, along with many crypto experts, feel that Facebook has brought harm to the crypto industry. Libra has forced regulators to lump all cryptocurrencies into “one big bucket” and Ripple could be caught in the crossfire. He added that Ripple is an institution-centric firm that works alongside the government and financial institutions.

Ripple had earlier written an open letter asking the US Congress not to “paint all crypto projects with the same broad brush.” The company highlighted that some cryptocurrencies like XRP offer an opportunity to complement fiat currencies.