Higher Compliance Costs for Bitcoin Holding Companies Under Biden Presidency, Ripple CEO Forecasts

Brad Garlinghouse believes that bitcoin holding companies will soon be affected by new policies from the Biden-led administration.

Bitcoin Will be Subject to Climate Change Management Policies

According to a tweet on Monday (November 9, 2020), Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has envisaged that Bitcoin holding companies might come under scrutiny once the Biden admin begins to carry out its climate change management policies. Ripple’s head said firms that are hodlers of the biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization would be made to reveal operations related to climate change.

#6 – Biden to require public companies to disclose climate change-related activities and GHG emissions in their operations.

Love to see the action on climate change – first NYDFS, now this. Public companies holding BTC (ahem Square) — may want to pay attention 👀 https://t.co/TAxxN8NQpu

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 9, 2020

In recent times, bitcoin has seen increasing institutional adoption, with firms preferring the flagship crypto to fiat currency. Companies like Microstrategy and Square made Bitcoin a treasury reserve asset.

Meanwhile, with Biden, it is expected that the President-elect of the United States could reverse Trump’s deregulation policies on climate change. This could mean that crypto-related businesses would face additional compliance if Biden’s environmental protection plans are in place.

Garlinghouse’s comments are the latest in the Ripple CEO touting XRP as a better alternative to proof-of-work (PoW) networks like bitcoin. Back in October, the company introduced EW Zero, a blockchain renewable energy payment solution.

Climate Change Management on the Agenda for Financial Services Industry

Previously, New York’s financial regulator, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), sent a letter to all firms, including cryptocurrency firms operating in the states. According to the letter, the NYDFS asked companies to be attentive to climate change risks while taking steps to reduce such risk factors.

In the United Kingdom, the UK Treasury announced this November its plans to make it compulsory for financial institutions and large corporations to reveal climate risk reports by 2025. While the country is managing the Brexit and COVID-19 fallouts, the U.K. government is looking to create a “net-zero-carbon country by 2050”.

Where Bitcoin holding companies may face climate change-based scrutiny, Ripple is not exempt from regulatory woes in the US. Indeed, the company is reportedly disillusioned with the crypto laws in the country and is considering a move abroad.

Back in September, 48 states agreed to a unified regulatory framework for money transmitters in a development that could be net positive for crypto and fintech businesses.