The first Pro-Crypto President needs a crypto advisory council. Industry insiders are jockeying for position. In good news for XRP, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is tipped to have a key seat.A seat on Donald Trump’s freshly minted crypto advisory council has become the most sought-after position in the capital. According to the New York Post, industry titans and major donors are battling it out to land one of the roughly two dozen seats — and the decisions this council makes will likely reverberate throughout the digital asset ecosystem for years to come, dictating everything from classification and regulation to the direction of U.S. innovation in blockchain technology.Why Ripple’s Garlinghouse Is Leading the PackAmong the many industry heavyweights jostling for the spotlight, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, has reportedly surged to the front. Credible sources say his meeting with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month catapulted him to the top of the list, sparking a wave of speculation about his imminent role in the new administration.Garlinghouse with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the beginning of a Crypto Bromance? Source: XThis development is also emblematic of Ripple’s growing policy presence. Once seen as a scrappy upstart pushing cross-border payments, Ripple now stands as a leading advocate in Washington, DC, for regulatory clarity around digital assets — clarity it didn’t get in the previous administration. If Garlinghouse is indeed tapped for the council, his influence could shape the conversation around cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, including whether tokens like XRP fall under the purview of the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).Even more crucially from the perspective of XRP investors, Garlinghouse would have an influence on the make-up of the proposed American National Digital Asset Stockpile. It makes sense that Ripple, as a U.S. company, would have its native cryptocurrency XRP included, but Garlinghouse’s involvement would make it a near certainty. The Other Big Names CirclingGarlinghouse isn’t the only one making headlines. NYP Sources list former Kraken general counsel Marco Santori; Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (who generously donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee); Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong; and Crypto.com’s Kris Marszalek as prime contenders.Trump’s Executive Order and the Man in ChargeShortly after being sworn in, President Trump established the advisory board via executive order, signaling a sharp pivot from the previous administration’s stance on digital assets. The council’s mission? To champion innovation in blockchain and cryptocurrencies, an ecosystem many in the crypto community felt was “harassed” under the Biden era. It’s not just a symbolic group, either — these advisors will work in lockstep with newly appointed AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks, a venture capitalist who’s helped craft key executive orders from the Oval Office since day one.Dav
Sab. Feb 8th, 2025
