Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, finds “beyond flattering” the accusations that the company he runs has influenced Telsa’s Elon Musk to highlight bitcoin’s energy consumption levels.
Beyond Flattering: Garlinghouse
One of the most discussed topics within and outside the cryptocurrency community in the past several weeks has been bitcoin’s energy consumption. On one side, environmentalists led by Elon Musk have claimed that the primary cryptocurrency uses as much electricity as entire countries, which is highly harmful to Mother Nature.
On the other, BTC proponents have referred to multiple researches indicating that the majority of the electricity used comes from renewable energy sources.
Interestingly, though, Barry Silbert, the Founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, outlined a theory suggesting that one particular company could be “behind most of the bitcoin energy usage FUD.”
Meltem Demirors, the Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, opined that the name of the company “starts with rip end with ple [Ripple].”
Somewhat expectedly, this comment caught the attention of the CEO of the aforementioned firm. Despite averting from refusing the accusations directly, Garlinghouse ironically referred to them as “beyond flattering.”
It’s beyond flattering that you think Ripple is the puppetmaster behind Elon Musk, countless scientists, governments, crypto enthusiasts and others who have stated the facts about BTC’s energy use…. ?https://t.co/csb7bBIGxq
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 24, 2021
How Did it Get to Here?
It’s worth noting that a few weeks before Tesla disabled bitcoin payments for its products citing environmental issues and Musk started criticizing the asset, Garglinghouse took it to Twitter to talk about bitcoin’s carbon footprint.
As reported at the time, Ripple’s executive said one BTC transaction requires about 75 gallons of oil and called it “among the least efficient payment mechanisms that mankind has ever created.” Furthermore, he warned that the higher the bitcoin price goes, the more energy it uses, and the “carbon footprint continues to scale aggressively.”
Nevertheless, Garlinghouse clarified he’s not urging for a ban on bitcoin and predicted that the cryptocurrency could reach its full potential only if all miners use renewable energy.