A former employee of the Federal Reserve has drawn attention to the impact of Ripple and its cryptocurrency XRP on shaping public policy in the United States. Gregg Kidd, who previously worked as a Senior Analyst at the Federal Reserve Board for payments and later became an early employee of Ripple, praised the company’s progress during his speech at the recent XRP Las Vegas 2024 conference.
Kidd discussed his introduction to Ripple while working at the Federal Reserve, explaining that he was intrigued by the San Francisco-based payments company, which was still emerging at the time. He described his transition from the “history world” of the Federal Reserve to the new universe that Ripple and XRP presented, highlighting Ripple’s module as being similar to the Bitcoin ledger but with additional columns dedicated to the issuer and the currency.
Kidd expressed his gratitude to Arthur Britto and David Schwartz, the original architects of the XRP Ledger, for educating him on the future possibilities of Ripple. He acknowledged that this knowledge prompted his shift from the Federal Reserve to Ripple.
Furthermore, Kidd mentioned Ripple’s role in shaping public policy, particularly in the crypto industry. He joined Ripple as a Chief Risk Officer in 2013 and had discussions with Chris Larsen, Ripple’s Executive Chairman, about risk management and compliance. Although Ripple had no compliance issues at the time, Kidd appreciated Larsen’s foresight in considering these matters.
It is worth noting that Ripple has been engaged in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for over three years since the agency filed a lawsuit against the company in December 2020. This lawsuit marked one of the first enforcement actions against a cryptocurrency firm, and Ripple has been actively contesting the SEC’s allegations. The court’s ruling declaring XRP as a non-security may serve as precedent for other crypto companies, such as Coinbase and BinanceUS, in their fights against the SEC’s securities allegations.
Kidd expressed his pride in Ripple’s role in shaping public policy in the United States, particularly in addressing regulatory uncertainty. Many industry experts have recognized Ripple as being at the forefront of this battle.
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