Garlinghouse of Ripple Credits ‘Trump Effect’ for Rise in U.S. Deals

Ripple Labs is shifting its focus to the U.S. market as part of its response to the “Trump effect,” which is believed to be making the cryptocurrency landscape more favorable in the U.S. With Donald Trump expected to take office, the crypto market is already seeing a boost, and U.S.-based firms are benefiting from the anticipated change in policies.

Ripple, known for its payment infrastructure and the RLUSD stablecoin powered by the XRP Ledger, is reporting an increase in domestic deals and hiring activity ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20. The company attributes this growth to the promises made by the incoming administration, which it expects will be more crypto-friendly.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse took to X, saying, “2025 is here, and the Trump bull market is real. For Ripple, this is especially personal after the SEC, under Gensler, effectively froze our U.S. business opportunities for years. The optimism is evident and well-deserved.”

Garlinghouse also mentioned that Ripple has signed more U.S. deals in the last six weeks of 2024, following the election, than in the previous six months combined. He pointed out that the “Trump effect” is already making crypto more promising, both through the campaign and the administration’s early focus on the sector.

Ripple is also shifting its hiring strategy, now focusing almost entirely on U.S. hires, reversing its previous trend of expanding overseas during the Biden administration. According to Garlinghouse, 75% of Ripple’s open positions are now in the U.S. The company is also supporting Trump’s upcoming inauguration, having pledged $5 million worth of XRP tokens.

Since Trump’s election, there has been growing speculation that a crypto-friendly administration would favor companies like Ripple Labs (associated with XRP) and Uniswap (UNI), as these firms are heavily involved in promoting value for token holders.

XRP has surged by more than 300% since Trump’s victory, outperforming other major cryptocurrencies, primarily driven by the positive narrative surrounding U.S. regulations.

XRP’s momentum continues, with the token seeing an 11% increase last week, fueled by $1.3 billion in trading volume on South Korea’s Upbit exchange. Historically, high trading volumes on South Korean exchanges have been a precursor to price volatility, typically with an upward trend.

As of Monday afternoon in Asia, XRP was trading just above $2.40, showing little change over the past 24 hours, in line with broader market trends.