Ripple (XRP) CEO Brad Garlinghouse is feeling pretty good these days. On Thursday, he declared that the so-called "Anti-Crypto Army" — a group he says tried to crush innovation and protect a broken financial system — has been defeated.
Garlinghouse borrowed the term from President Donald Trump, who earlier this week said the "Anti-Crypto Army" was trying to drive Bitcoin (BTC), perpetuals, and other innovations out of the U.S. "Combatting financial innovation only helped protect those that wanted to keep an old, often broken, system in place," Garlinghouse said. "It never made policy, legal or political sense."
He added that the army was defeated by court rulings, voters, and Trump himself.
Ripple's Long War with the SEC
Garlinghouse didn't hold back in criticizing the previous administration and former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, whom he blamed for making life difficult for crypto companies in the U.S. Ripple was locked in a nearly five-year legal battle with the SEC over the status of XRP, the cryptocurrency at the center of its operations.
Garlinghouse has said previously that the establishment of Fairshake, a cryptocurrency-focused super PAC, was a direct response to Gensler's stifling actions. Ripple was one of the biggest donors to the PAC.
But Have Things Really Changed?
Trump has claimed credit for "saving" the industry and turning America into the "cryptocurrency capital of the world." And he does have a genuine pro-crypto policy record: the GENIUS Act, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and a strong push for the CLARITY Act.
But policy wins haven't translated into sustained price recovery. Bitcoin hit $126,000 last year, but has since dropped to around $73,000 — down roughly 42%. Meanwhile, ventures linked to Trump and his family, including the Official Trump (TRUMP) token and the World Liberty Financial platform, have raised conflict-of-interest concerns.
Price Action: At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $1.31, up 1.84% in the last 24 hours, according to market data.
