Ripple‘s co-founder believes the US is losing the tech war with China.
Speaking at the LA Blockchain Summit on October 6, Chris Larsen criticized the United States for not playing a strong enough role in the development of the “next generation of the global financial system.”
The crypto firm’s executive chairman said during an interview at the online event, “We are in a tech cold war with China, and that goes across the spectrum, whether it’s communications, surveillance, data, AI, but also blockchain and digital assets, and the reason is that China has recognized that those technologies are keys to who is going to control the next-gen financial system.”
He added, “SWIFT and correspondent banking is not going to be the system we are going to be living with over the next two decades.”
Larsen said the US has fallen “woefully behind,” pointing out that Beijing is way ahead of Washington in terms of legislative clarity, resource allocation, infrastructure development, and tech innovation.
He said Washington has failed to embrace the digitization of the dollar, pointing out that China is “way ahead on a central bank digital currency” (CBDC). Larsen warned that China’s CBDC will empower it to “spread the yuan globally,” undermining US dollar hegemony.
People’s Bank of China deputy governor Fan Yi Fei revealed earlier this week that the institution has already settled more than $162 million worth of domestic transactions through its Digital Currency, Electronic Payment (DCEP) pilot program, FinTech Futures reports.
China’s regulators are much more proactive than those in the US, Larsen said, stressing that the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a watchdog, needs to recognize the vital role blockchain can play in America’s technological arms race with its Asian rival.
The Ripple co-founder also warned that China’s dominant role in crypto mining means that “proof-of-work mining is controlled by China” and that Chinese miners are “under the control of the Chinese Community Party.”
He added, “Miners are masters. They can rewrite history if they want. They can block transactions.”
Ripple could be packing its bags
Larsen said he was so frustrated by the US regulatory environment that his US-based technology company, which is best known for its XRP crypto, may relocate to a friendlier jurisdiction.
He said nearly every other country in the world is a more hospitable regulatory environment for crypto than the US, but identified Britain and Singapore as the most likely destinations if Ripple packs its bags.
