Ripple CEO: First quarter may see record growth, warns that regulatory "weaponization" hinders crypto innovation.

BlockBeats news, on March 28, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated in an interview that the company’s business continues to accelerate driven by mergers and acquisitions, and it expects to achieve a “record” performance in the first quarter of 2026.

Garlinghouse pointed out that Ripple invested approximately $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem in 2025 through investments and acquisitions, including the acquisition of Hidden Road ($1.25 billion) and GTreasury ($1 billion), significantly enhancing the company’s positioning in institutional services and financial infrastructure.

On the regulatory front, he remains generally optimistic about the prospects for U.S. digital asset policy, but expects the implementation of the CLARITY Act to be delayed beyond previous expectations, moving from the originally anticipated end of April to the end of May. He also warned that if policies are “weaponized” for political games rather than promoting industry development, it could have a negative impact on innovation.

“The market is highly concerned about whether the U.S. regulatory framework can be implemented; we need to avoid a recurrence of the policy uncertainty seen during Gary Gensler’s tenure,” Garlinghouse stated.

Currently, the crypto industry and traditional financial institutions are still negotiating related legislative details, including key issues like stablecoin yields, and the regulatory process is facing certain obstacles.