Ripple’s dreams came true this month when its pro-altcoin lobbying efforts in the US scored decisive victories, eliminating not only the word “bitcoin” from all executive orders and actions signed by Donald Trump but also killing two efforts to establish a national bitcoin reserve.
Outside the US, it’s succeeding with its stablecoin technologies, earning press releases for tests, and preliminary projects with banks. It’s even using XRP technology in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilots with foreign governments.
Sales of their XRP allocations made co-founders Chris Larsen, Jed McCaleb, and Brad Garlinghouse billionaires. With their fortunes, the men have launched various pro-altcoin projects, including this year’s successful effort to delay US Senator Cynthia Lummis’ bill that would have allocated billions of dollars to a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR).
Instead, Ripple rejoiced when Trump’s signature committed only to a committee that would propose recommendations for the crypto industry as a whole.
The President proposed no bitcoin (BTC) reserve whatsoever — merely a committee to study the possibility of a non-strategic, digital asset stockpile of various altcoins. The critical elimination of three words — strategic, reserve, and bitcoin — opens many possibilities for including XRP Ledger technology in any future stockpile.
Read more: Ripple billionaires’ RLUSD captures less than 0.04% of stablecoin market
The victory of Ripple-led efforts in politics was also evident in the defeat of not just one but two Bitcoiner-led efforts to establish a BTC reserve. Not only is the proposal replaced by a National Digital Asset Stockpile — Bitcoiners’ first failed idea — but the president has also declined to advise the US Treasury to use any funds, such as its Exchange Stabilization Fund or Treasury General Account, to purchase any BTC.
Only one, long-shot possibility for a BTC reserve remains: Congressional action. Unfortunately, Congress is most often where ideas go to die.
Instead of any BTC purchases, Ripple succeeded in diverting money into committees and other political efforts. There, in the political morass of Washington, DC, Ripple and its pro-altcoin lobbyists like Fairshake will have more time to influence fiscal and policy decisions.
Chris Larsen’s anti-proof-of-work bears fruit in 2025
Ripple co-founder Larsen famously funded Greenpeace’s “Change the Code” campaign that criticized Bitcoin for its energy usage and tried to gain attention for a hard fork. In a series of tweets, Larsen tried to clarify that the campaign was his personal project and not Ripple’s responsibility.
Bitcoiners were quick to not only defend Bitcoin’s energy usage — which secures against centralization, attacks, and double-spending — but also warn about the risks of advocating for a hard fork.
Read more: Ripple billionaires’ RLUSD captures less than 0.04% of stablecoin market
Ripple also promoted The Digital Dollar Project, a US dollar stablecoin initiative, and also emphasizes stablecoins that use the XRP Ledger such as RLUSD.
Ripple also has a new initiative called the Technical Sandbox Program for non-US CBDCs. Naturally, the Technical Sandbox Program prioritizes XRP’s technologies.
Since November, Ripple and its billionaire co-founders have scored massive political victories with Trump’s campaign, and January is riddled with more successes.
A new executive order chairs early Solana investor David Sacks to lead a working group to prioritize stablecoins and a national digital assets stockpile. Efforts to have Trump differentiate BTC from the rest of the crypto industry are temporarily squashed, and Ripple will continue to have time in working groups and committees to influence policy decisions for years to come.
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