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CEO Brad Garlinghouse says in what was poised to be a challenging year, Ripple exceeded his expectations for 2020. 

“We aren’t going to grow as fast this year as we thought. However, we’re still getting two production financial contracts a week,” he said.

Indeed, the digital asset and payment system has seen some days this year in which XRP liquidity on Bitso exceeded BTC. But still, an opaque regulatory atmosphere has kept Ripple from reaching its potential, Garlinghouse argued in an interview with The Scoop’s Frank Chaparro.

According to Garlinghouse, there isn’t a “level playing field” for all digital assets in this regulatory climate.

“Bitcoin was the only one with the hall pass,” he said.

This creates an atmosphere in which assets without clarity underperform, according to Garlinghouse.

On this week’s episode, Garlinghouse discussed how Ripple is “fighting with one hand tied behind our back,” as well as:

• Why big banks aren’t partnering with Ripple, but smaller banks are interested
• The ways regulatory clarity has benefited bitcoin but not other digital assets, and why the lack of clarity impedes Ripple’s growth
• Why Ripple is currently not planning a blockchain initial public offering (IPO)
• How central banks are looking into XRP-based ledgers.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The third quarter of 2020 was marked by a resurgence in the price of bitcoin, and that gave the trading business at Galaxy Digital a boost, according to the firm’s third-quarter financials released Friday. 

The New York-based merchant bank said that its trading business saw volumes top $1.4 billion during the period— a 75% increase year-over-year. 

“GDT’s momentum and market share gains have continued into October and November as Bitcoin approaches 2017 highs and its counterparties remain engaged and nimble,” a press statement from the firm noted. “During the same period GDT’s continued enhancements to its product suite have generated ongoing demand across its spot, lending, derivatives, and structured products businesses.”

As for Galaxy’s financials, the company posted income of $44 million for the quarter compared to the $68 million loss it reported in Q3 2019. Still, the firm’s trading business—despite the record volumes—posted a net gain that came in at just $28 million compared to $163 million during the same period in 2019. 

Source: Galaxy Digital

Galaxy, which operates a business that spans trading, asset management, and advisory, also announced Friday two acquisitions aimed at beefing up its existing operations. The two acquired companies are crypto lender DrawBridge and market maker Blue Fire. 

“DrawBridge and Blue Fire are both pioneers in applying their teams’ institutional expertise in traditional lending, structured products, futures, and market-making to the rapidly growing cryptocurrency derivatives and lending space,” a press release said of the deals. 

In an analyst call, CEO Mike Novogratz described the deals as “acquihires,” noting that the firm has found it difficult to hire at a pace necessary to keep up with the fast-moving nature of the crypto space in recent months. 

On the hiring front, Galaxy announced that it had replaced Ian Taylor, who previously led the firm’s M&A business. Michael Ashe, a former banker at Oppenheimer, joined Galaxy in October as its new head of investment banking. 

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Quick Take

• Singapore continues to build its regulatory framework for digital assets.
• Regulatory uncertainty and overregulation in some aspects may turn away potential businesses.

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Sir John Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England, says it is not the job of central banks to protect banks from the potential fallout of a proliferation in digital currencies.

“Our job is not to protect bank business models,” said Cunliffe at an online seminar hosted by Columbia University.

Cunliffe said lenders would have to adjust to such changes on their own.

His comments come just a day after European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said she has a “hunch” Europe will proceed with the development of a digital euro, although it is not racing to do so.

At today’s seminar, Cunliffe said politicians must accelerate their effort to explore the implications of CBDCs.

“They need to go up the political agenda quite fast before the political side discovers there are developments in the private sector that actually don’t fit with policy,” he said.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.