Riot Platforms, a major US Bit mining company, Vice President of Research Pierre Rochard accused Ripple of investing millions of dollars to lobby US policymakers, in an attempt to obstruct the promotion of the "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve"; Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse subsequently also provided a rebuttal, and the two sides engaged in a fierce confrontation over the roles of Bit and Ripple.

The Controversy over Bit Strategic Reserves: Is Ripple the Biggest Obstacle?

Pierre Rochard stated that the biggest obstacle to promoting the US Bit Strategic Reserve (SBR) is not the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, or traditional financial institutions, but Ripple's opposition. He directly accused Ripple of investing millions of dollars to actively lobby US policymakers, in an attempt to undermine the plan, and also accused Ripple of previously obstructing the Bit mining industry during the Biden administration.

Rochard said:

Ripple wants to protect its own market narrative and promote the implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) based on its platform.

Ripple's Counterattack: Supporting the US Domestic Crypto Industry

In response to Rochard's accusations, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse immediately responded, denying that Ripple's actions were aimed at Bit. He stated that Ripple's efforts are actually to speak up for the interests of the entire cryptocurrency industry, and echo the core policy position of the US government to support domestic companies and technological innovation.

Garlinghouse also hinted that the promotion of the Bit Strategic Reserve may actually become more feasible due to Ripple's participation.

Rochard's Further Doubts, Only Selling Coins

Soon after, Rochard again questioned Garlinghouse's statement, asking whether he had actually purchased XRP before, or just used it to sell for profit. He also doubted whether Ripple really wants the government to buy XRP, as this position may conflict with its attitude towards Bit.

Questioning Ripple's Lack of Decentralization

At the same time, Rochard further criticized Ripple's technical architecture, pointing out that Ripple solves the problem of transaction processing efficiency through centralized nodes (UNL), but this approach sacrifices decentralization. In contrast, although Bit faces challenges in energy consumption and scalability, it has achieved decentralized issuance through the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism, effectively avoiding the problem of monopolistic seigniorage.

Rochard emphasized:

Ripple's approach may be effective, but it goes against the core idea of decentralization.