- Ripple CEO criticized Strategy’s leveraged funding model for hurting the wider crypto market.
- Brad Garlinghouse pointed to Strategy’s preferred stock, STRC, trading 25% below par as a damning indictment.
- He argued long-term crypto value stems from utility, as evidenced by Ripple processing $16 trillion in payments last year with minimal digital asset use.
- Garlinghouse remained bullish on Bitcoin, framing the current bear market as a time to be greedy.
In a Friday CNBC interview, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse critiqued Strategy’s capital structure while affirming his Bitcoin optimism. He specifically targeted the Strategy preferred stock, STRC, calling its 25% discount to par value a “damning indictment” of their financial engineering.
Garlinghouse argued “Team Michael Saylor wasn’t focused on the right stuff, and that has hurt the overall market.” He contends sustainable value originates from utility, not leveraged financial structuring. Consequently, he sees Strategy’s troubles as symptomatic of a flawed, leverage-heavy model.
However, Garlinghouse separated this critique from Bitcoin’s fundamental value proposition. He invoked Warren Buffett, suggesting “Now is the time, I think, to be greedy” in the current market. He highlighted Bitcoin’s utility as portable “digital Gold,” contrasting it with the logistical challenges of moving physical bullion.
Meanwhile, he framed Ripple’s opportunity around real-world utility for its associated digital asset. The company processed a staggering $16 trillion in payments last year. Yet, Garlinghouse noted almost none of that volume utilized digital assets, revealing a significant growth avenue for blockchain adoption in finance.
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