Is Ripple Lobbying against a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?

After US President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) establishing a crypto-focused working group on January 23, the heated debate flared up on Twitter

After US President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) establishing a crypto-focused working group on January 23, the heated debate flared up on X. The order aims to regulate digital assets and explore the creation of a so-called “digital asset strategic reserve.” Although the EO does not specifically identify Bitcoin, its language underscores a broader mandate to strengthen American leadership in digital financial technology—while explicitly banning the development or deployment of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

Is Ripple Lobbying Against A Bitcoin Reserve? Shortly before the executive order was signed, Pierre Rochard, Vice President of Research at Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) and a prominent early adopter, posted a statement via X on January 23, calling out Ripple/XRP as “the biggest obstacle” for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR).

He asserted: “The biggest obstacle for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is not the Fed, Treasury, banks, or Elizabeth Warren. It’s Ripple/XRP. They are aggressively lobbying against the SBR by throwing around $millions at politicians, desperately trying to derail it. They did the same to attack Bitcoin mining under the Biden administration. Obviously they want to protect their marketing narratives and push for CBDCs built on their platform.”

Rochard's accusations center on the claim that Ripple aims to undermine a BTC-only strategic reserve in favor of what he alleges is a broader “crypto reserve” that includes XRP and possibly other tokens. He also revived longstanding criticisms of the company's lobbying activities, alluding to the efforts of co-founder Chris Larsen, who has provided financial support to environmental campaigns criticizing BTC's proof-of-work mining.

Responding to Rochard's remarks, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, countered via X: “Unless you are choosing to ignore the core tenants of the POTUS campaign (which aggressively supports American companies and technologies), our efforts are actually INCREASING the likelihood of a crypto strategic reserve (which includes Bitcoin) happening.”

The exchange intensified when Rochard questioned Garlinghouse's personal investment in XRP, suggesting a potential conflict of interest in his advocacy efforts. “Brad, have you ever actually bought XRP? Or just sold? Yes/no, don’t need to know how much but curious since you’re asking the government to buy XRP.”

While Garlinghouse went quiet on this, Rochard doubled down on his allegation that Ripple stands firmly against a BTC-focused reserve: “To all who were doubting that Ripple/XRP is lobbying against the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, here’s the proof. They want to sabotage the SBR with ‘crypto’ distractions. There’s an infinite number of altcoins that are ‘Made in the USA,’ anyone can do it, nothing strategic about it.”

Rochard also shared a video clip in which Garlinghouse endorses a broad-based crypto reserve rather than a strictly BTC-only approach: “Right from the horse’s mouth: Ripple/XRP is opposed to a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, they want a ‘Diversified Crypto Reserve’ instead. This is what they're pushing behind closed doors in DC, and waving $millions at politicians to make it happen.”

Further, Rochard supported his claims by referencing a CNBC article titled “Ripple’s Anti-Bitcoin Campaign To Promote CBDCs,” which details Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen's financial backing of Greenpeace USA's “Change the Code” campaign. This initiative, launched in March 2022 with a $5 million contribution from Larsen, aimed to modify BTC's proof-of-work protocol under the guise of reducing its environmental impact.

Ryan Selkis, founder of the cryptocurrency research firm Messari, aligned with Rochard's perspective, stating that Ripple's lobbying efforts to include XRP in a crypto strategic reserve are misguided: “Brad's answer is illuminating. Ripple is likely lobbying to make XRP part of the ‘crypto strategic reserve’ when in reality only Bitcoin (as an energy-adjacent commodity) makes sense in any sort of reserve like this. I’ve warned the Trump admin about Ripple for months. Toxic.”

At press time, BTC traded at $105,012.