Brad Garlinghouse, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ripple and the one being targeted by the SEC regarding the alleged unregistered sales of the XRP token, has recently commented on the idea of him being the so-called ‘puppet master’ who has been covertly orchestrating the entire recent debacle regarding the use of clean and renewable energy and the subsequent hazard Bitcoin (BTC) mining represents to the environment and ecosystem.
Garlinghouse has since stated that the accusations levied against him of being the one who is quietly pulling strings behind Elon Musk’s recent campaign for cleaner and more eco-friendly alternatives to Bitcoin are ‘beyond flattering’.
As of the time of this writing, XRP is trading at a price of $0.8, which is a 9.4% decrease since yesterday. XRP is currently ranked as the 7th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at this point in time.
Ripple conspiracy?
As aforementioned, Garlinghouse believes that it is extremely flattering that people actually think he is Elon Musk’s puppet master, despite the fact that numerous governments, scientists, people of influence and even those investors within the cryptocurrency community have repeatedly called for the introduction of a cleaner and more energy-efficient source of crypto mining.
Coinshare’s Meltem Demirors had been the one to make the insinuation that Ripple is behind everything lately and also the one responsible for pushing the anti-Bitcoin agenda and narrative.
What is interesting to note, however, is the fact that various top executives at Ripple have often criticized the excess amount of energy is wasted when it does come to mining BTC, with Chris Larsen himself even going as far as to claim that the proof-of-work algorithm should be ditched. Furthermore, Ripple is, in fact, the leading company when it comes to spending money on the respective lobbying efforts.
Shroud of mystery remains
Despite the recent comments by Demirors about Ripple, this does not change the fact that there has been a recent spike in anti-Bitcoin sentiment. Not only had this been caused by the potential damage that BTC mining can and often does cause to the environment, but also the fact that Bitcoin’s value has constantly been depreciating as of late. As it stands right now, Bitcoin is trading at $35,662, which is a 2% dip since yesterday.
Many still claim that Elon Musk’s recent decision to stop Tesla from accepting payments in BTC may be more significant than just environmental concerns. Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood had recently stated that many big-time institutional players such as BlackRock might also be involved, thus adding more mystery to the entire situation.
