Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple , has turned to Twitter to urge US regulators to either tackle cryptocurrencies, or risk being financially displaced by China in the contest for hegemonic dominance.

Ripple CEO: US must tackle cryptocurrencies

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called on US regulators to "tackle and tackle digital currencies" in order to prevent the nation from being left behind on the matter .

In a tweet posted on May 26, Garlinghouse warns that "staying satisfied with ourselves is actually holding us back , " citing an article hinted in a prediction that the central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) of China may supersede the dollar.

SWIFT can be overtaken by blockchain

The US financial domain relies heavily on the dollar as the global reserve currency. Likewise, in financial terms, it has control over the Company for World International Financial Transactions or the SWIFT system.

This makes it easier for messages to be exchanged and transactions to be carried out between commercial cross-border banks. Control of this system gives the US an almost hegemonic ability to control and impose financial sanctions.

These cross-border currency transfers do not merit a SWIFT or depend on the US dollar.

The United States must begin to enter the game

Although it claims to have no scheduled release date for its digital yuan, China's CBDC is currently being tested in several regions.

In terms of a national digital currency, the U.S. is already years behind China , but Garlinghouse believes that a looser regulatory framework on XRP may give the U.S. some edge and regain ground.

While China's CBDC is outside of U.S. jurisdiction, Garlinghouse emphasized that the XRP is not exempt from oversight by U.S. (or indeed global) financial entities.