Ripple Continues to Sign New Customers, Claims CEO Garlinghouse

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) slapped a $1.3 billion lawsuit on blockchain firm Ripple for soliciting investments for an unregulated securities offering. However, according to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the firm continues to grow strong and has signed up 15 new customers since the lawsuit.

The new letter reveals customer interest

In a new letter public yesterday, Garlinghouse wrote,

“2020 was a banner year for Ripple, despite a disappointing ending related to U.S. regulation (understatement?). We processed millions of RippleNet [transactions], grew [on-demand liquidity] 12x [year-over-year] and signed 15 new customers after the SEC complaint.”

Despite the lawsuit, the firm added new two new customers per week on average. The chief executive said that the firm has more customers than ever before. He said that RippleNet’s adoption is being fueled by increasing demand for payments interoperability and digital financial services in the Asia Pacific region. The PSPs, fintech, and SMEs in the country are demanding such services.

He further noted that the number of deals signed in 2020 was 80% higher on a year-on-year basis. The network also witnessed a 1,700% growth in transactions. The firm also added new members to its staff as it continued hiring during the pandemic. Garlinghouse said that the firm continued to add top talent from firms like Apple, Amazon, PayPal, Twitter, and Tesla to its roster.

The lawsuit problem

The SEC filed a lawsuit against the firm and its top executives on December 22, claiming that it had raised over $1.3 billion from the public via an unregistered securities offering. Since then, several crypto exchanges and funds have reduced their exposure to XRP, the native coin of the Ripple blockchain fearing regulatory action. The market capitalization of the coin reduced by a whopping 63% at a time when most altcoins are reaching new highs. The value of the coin has been on a downward spiral since then.