Ripple once weighed shutting down and handing XRP to shareholders, CEO says
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed that the company considered shutting down and distributing its XRP holdings to shareholders during its protracted legal battle with the SEC. Ultimately, the company chose to continue operations to protect jobs, eventually securing a legal victory that clarified XRP's status as a non-security.
Why it matters
This insight provides a rare look into the internal decision-making of a major crypto firm facing existential regulatory pressure and highlights the impact of SEC litigation on the industry.
Speaking at the University of Kansas School of Business earlier this week , Garlinghouse said the two seriously considered winding Ripple down and distributing its XRP holdings to shareholders. He described that as the easier path, against a government he said had "infinite power and resources."
Ripple holds a large amount of XRP, and Garlinghouse said the company could have handed it to shareholders on a pro rata basis and dissolved, effectively ending the case by ending the company.
But they chose to fight because shutting down would have cost hundreds of jobs. "I'm glad in retrospect, but that was not obvious at the time," he said.
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