Brad Garlinghouse

Brad Garlinghouse is an American technology executive and the Chief Executive Officer of Ripple, a fintech company that develops enterprise blockchain solutions for cross-border payments built around the digital asset XRP. Under his leadership, Ripple has been a central player in the institutional adoption of blockchain-based settlement and in one of the most closely watched legal battles in the digital asset industry.

Overview

Garlinghouse became Ripple’s CEO in 2017 after joining the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2015. He has positioned Ripple as a bridge between traditional financial institutions and public blockchain infrastructure, focusing on payment rails, liquidity solutions, and software that can integrate with existing bank systems. His tenure has combined rapid commercial expansion, a strong public brand around XRP, and sustained engagement with regulators and policymakers on the status of digital assets in U.S. and global markets.

Beyond Ripple, Garlinghouse is widely recognized as a prominent spokesperson for the crypto and fintech sector, frequently appearing in media interviews and policy forums to discuss regulation, cross-border payments, and the future of digital currencies.

Early Life and Career

Bradley Kent Garlinghouse was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Harvard Business School. After graduating, he moved into the technology and telecommunications sectors, building experience in both startup and large-cap environments.

Garlinghouse held leadership roles at @Home Network and served as CEO of Dialpad Communications in the early 2000s. From 2003 to 2008 he worked at Yahoo! as Senior Vice President in charge of key consumer products, including Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Messenger. During his time there he authored the widely discussed “Peanut Butter Manifesto,” an internal memo arguing that the company needed to focus its efforts rather than spreading resources too thin across many projects.

He later served as President of Consumer Applications at AOL and then as CEO and Chairman of Hightail (formerly YouSendIt), a file collaboration and sharing platform. These roles established him as a seasoned operator in consumer internet and cloud services before his transition into blockchain and digital assets.

Leadership at Ripple

Garlinghouse joined Ripple in 2015 as COO and became CEO in 2017. Ripple’s core focus is improving cross-border payments, a market historically dominated by correspondent banking networks that can be slow and expensive. Under his leadership, the company has built out RippleNet, a network and software suite for financial institutions, and promoted the use of XRP as a bridge asset for sourcing on-demand liquidity between currencies.

Ripple’s strategy under Garlinghouse has emphasized partnerships with banks, payment providers, and fintechs across multiple regions, including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company has also developed enterprise solutions that allow institutions to settle transactions in seconds and reconcile payments more efficiently than with legacy systems.

Garlinghouse has advocated for interoperability between public blockchains and traditional finance, framing XRP and the XRP Ledger as neutral payment and settlement infrastructure that can sit alongside fiat currencies and existing messaging networks.

SEC Lawsuit and Regulatory Milestones

In December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil enforcement action against Ripple, Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen, alleging that certain XRP sales constituted unregistered securities offerings. The case became a key test for how U.S. securities laws apply to digital assets and their distribution.

In July 2023, a federal court issued a landmark ruling that differentiated between types of XRP sales, finding that XRP itself is not a security when traded on public exchanges while identifying securities law violations in certain institutional sales. Claims against Garlinghouse personally were later dismissed, marking a rare instance in which an individual executive prevailed over the SEC in contested litigation.

Subsequent proceedings focused on remedies and penalties for Ripple as a company. By 2024 and 2025, the litigation culminated in a monetary penalty, the withdrawal of appeals, and the formal conclusion of the case. The resolution removed a major source of legal uncertainty around XRP’s status in secondary markets and allowed Ripple to redirect more resources toward product development and institutional expansion.

Recent Strategy and Market Developments

Following the legal resolution, Garlinghouse has emphasized a renewed growth strategy centered on institutional products, tokenization, and regulatory-compliant use of digital assets. Ripple has expanded its offerings to include stablecoin initiatives, custody and liquidity services, and integrations that connect traditional financial instruments with infrastructure on the XRP Ledger.

The emergence of XRP-focused investment products, including exchange-traded funds in certain jurisdictions, has further linked Garlinghouse’s leadership to the institutionalization of XRP as an investable asset. He has argued that clearer rules and the end of the SEC dispute are catalysts for increased participation by banks, asset managers, and payment providers in the XRP ecosystem.

Significance for the Digital Asset Ecosystem

Brad Garlinghouse’s role at Ripple has made him one of the most visible executives in the blockchain and crypto industry. His efforts to build enterprise-grade payment infrastructure around XRP have contributed to the shift from purely speculative use of digital assets toward practical settlement and liquidity applications.

At the same time, the multi-year SEC case involving Ripple and its executives has been central to debates about regulatory jurisdiction, token classification, and the responsibilities of issuers and platforms. The final outcome has implications beyond XRP, influencing how new projects structure token distributions, disclosures, and institutional relationships.

For the broader digital asset market, Garlinghouse represents the convergence of Silicon Valley, fintech, and public blockchain technology. His leadership at Ripple, both during rapid expansion and through prolonged regulatory scrutiny, continues to shape expectations around how large-scale crypto-native companies engage with regulators, financial institutions, and global payment networks.

• Ripple CEO