Higher compliance costs for Bitcoin holdings under Biden’s presidency, Ripple CEO predicts

Brad Garlinghouse believes that bitcoin holdings will soon be affected by the new policies of 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 predicted that Bitcoin holdings could be scrutinized once Biden’s CEO begins putting his climate change management policies in place. Ripple’s boss said that companies that are hodlers of the largest cryptocurrency by market cap would be made to reveal operations related to climate change.

# 6 – Biden requires public companies to disclose activities related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in their operations.

I like to see 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 institutional adoption rise, with companies preferring the flagship cryptocurrency to fiat currency. Companies like Microstrategy and Square have made Bitcoin a treasure reserve asset.

Meanwhile, with Biden, the US president-elect is expected to reverse Trump’s deregulation policies on climate change. This could mean that cryptocurrency-related companies would face additional compliance if Biden’s environmental protection plans were in place.

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

Managing climate change on the agenda for the financial services industry

Previously, the New York financial regulator, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), had sent a letter to all companies, including cryptocurrency companies operating in the United States. According to the letter, the NYDFS asked companies to be alert to the risks of climate change as they take steps to reduce those risk factors.

In the UK, the UK Treasury announced in November its plans to make it mandatory for financial institutions and large corporations to disclose reports on climate risk by 2025. As the country is dealing with the fallout from Brexit and COVID-19 , the UK government is trying to create a “carbon neutral country by 2050“.

Where Bitcoin holdings may face climate change-based scrutiny, Ripple is not free from regulatory problems in the United States. Indeed, the company would be disillusioned with cryptographic laws in the country and are considering moving overseas.

In September, 48 states agreed on a unified regulatory framework for money transmitters in a development that could be net positive for crypto and fintech companies.