Blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs said it had secured money transmitter licenses in the US states of Texas and New York.
In a Jan. 27 notice, Ripple said financial regulators in Texas and New York had approved money transmitter licenses for the payments firm, which reported holding more than 50 licenses across different jurisdictions. According to the blockchain firm, the licensing would allow it to offer users a cross-border payment solution in the US.
“Texas and New York have defined regulations and stringent licensing requirements with robust compliance standards and regulatory oversight,” said Ripple.
Regulators in both US states could have more significant influence over crypto firms should adoption increase, due to many mining companies being based in Texas and digital asset businesses operating in New York. The licensing approvals followed Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s announcement in December that the New York Department of Financial Services approved the firm’s RLUSD stablecoin, which the company plans to list on crypto exchanges.
SEC v. Ripple case in appellate court
Ripple still faces legal troubles following a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case filed against the blockchain firm over XRP in 2020. In August 2024, a judge found Ripple liable for $125 million, but both the SEC and the company’s legal team have filed appeals currently being considered by judges in the Second Circuit.
Related: Ripple seeks deadline for cross-appeal brief in SEC case
Garlinghouse and Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty also seem to have a close relationship with US President Donald Trump. The firm donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s presidential inaugural fund, and Alderoty spent more than $300,000 on fundraising and political action committees supporting the then-Republican candidate.
Both executives met with Trump in his Mar-a-Lago home in January, attended inauguration events in Washington, DC, and told Cointelegraph they had been marked as official guests. Trump later ordered the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony moved inside the US Capitol Building.
Source: Stuart Alderoty
Garlinghouse claimed on Jan. 5 that 75% of Ripple’s job openings were based in the US as a direct result of Trump’s election.
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