Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts stablecoins will serve as the crypto industry’s ‘ChatGPT moment,’ unlocking faster, more efficient payments for businesses and prompting many companies to explore integration plans.
Garlinghouse told FOX Business that boards and CEOs at a range of firms, from Fortune 500 to Fortune 2000, are asking their treasurers and CFOs what they’re doing about stablecoins. He said giving finance teams that option is the key to opening up broader blockchain-based services.
Industry research supports the view of rapid expansion. Bloomberg Intelligence estimated in January that stablecoin flows could grow at a roughly 80% compounded annual rate, reaching about $56.6 trillion by 2030 — a scale that would position stablecoins as a major payment rail in global finance.
Garlinghouse highlighted that stablecoins already accounted for more than $33 trillion in trading volume last year, though about 90% of that activity was concentrated in two tokens, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.
Ripple entered the stablecoin market in December 2024 with Ripple USD (RLUSD). RLUSD has since become one of the larger stablecoins by market capitalization, sitting near the 10th spot with an approximate $1.4 billion valuation, according to CoinGecko.
Beyond issuing a stablecoin, Ripple has been building out institutional payments infrastructure through acquisitions. In the past year the company bought prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and treasury-management platform GTreasury for $1 billion. Garlinghouse said those moves have helped power strong company results, and he told reporters Ripple is positioned for a ‘record quarter’ and has been ‘on a tear’ since completing the deals.
Garlinghouse also argued that clearer U.S. market-structure legislation could speed corporate adoption of stablecoins and blockchain tools. He pointed to the CLARITY Act as a potential catalyst if enacted and warned against regulatory actions that become politicized, saying the industry should avoid another ‘Gary Gensler moment’ where policy is used for political ends rather than innovation and national benefit.
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