Ripple eyes a landmark SEC settlement paid in XRP as CEO Brad Garlinghouse boldly forecasts bitcoin hitting $200,000, signaling explosive momentum for the crypto market.
Ripple Discusses Settling With SEC Using XRP, CEO Sees $200K Bitcoin Ahead
Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse said the company’s settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could potentially involve payment in XRP. He also offered a bullish outlook on bitcoin’s future price during an April 11 interview with Fox Business. Describing a changing environment for digital assets in the U.S., Garlinghouse framed the reduced financial penalty as a breakthrough moment for Ripple. He stated:
The SEC is going to end up with $50 million. The U.S. government is going to get $50 million. We even talked about making that available in XRP.
“At the end of the day, this is a major step forward,” the chief executive stressed. Ripple had originally placed $125 million in escrow, but will retain a majority of the funds under the terms of the agreement.
Garlinghouse described the deal, which is still awaiting final SEC commissioner approval, as a signal that U.S. regulators are taking a more supportive stance toward blockchain and crypto firms. He credited a shift in leadership at both the SEC and the White House for creating what he called “tailwinds” instead of hostility. The mention of XRP as a possible settlement instrument marked a notable change in tone from federal regulators, who had previously challenged its status as a security. Garlinghouse argued that such progress would not have been achievable under the previous administration and said Ripple is now well-positioned to grow within the U.S. under a more stable and innovation-oriented framework.
In addition to addressing Ripple’s legal resolution, Garlinghouse shared his expectations for the crypto market’s broader trajectory, including a price forecast for bitcoin. While stopping short of projecting XRP’s future, he did offer a prediction for bitcoin, suggesting the market still underestimates the impact of institutional and regulatory shifts. “I wouldn’t predict XRP—It’s too close to home,” the Ripple CEO clarified. Referencing Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson’s prediction that bitcoin could reach $250,000 by the end of this year or next, Garlinghouse stated:
I will predict bitcoin … I think $200,000 is not unreasonable.
“I think people underestimate how the largest economy in the world—the United States—went from headwinds, hostility to tailwinds, and I think people are still not fully quantifying how significant that is,” he concluded.
Source: Bitcoin
