Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty were spotted dining with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on January 7, 2025. The news appeared in both Garlinghouse’s post and Alderoty on X, with a photo with Trump that soon appeared. it went viral.
What Did Ripple’s Execs Discuss With Trump?
Garlinghouse said, “Great dinner last night with Donald Trump and Stuart Alderoty. A strong start to 2025! ” while Alderoty, adding a personal highlight, wrote, “… and in addition, the beef bourguignon was really good.” None of the hosts elaborated on the specific topics raised during the dinner, leaving the crypto community to speculate whether the news regulations—or an unresolved legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Trade Commission—were on the agenda.
Trump, who was due to be inaugurated later this month, selected Paul Atkins in December to lead the SEC. Because of the ongoing Ripple-SEC case, many analysts are waiting to see if Atkins and the Trump administration can change the agency’s appeals strategy. As reported by Bitcoinist yesterday, the SEC’s grounds for appeal are due on January 15, a few days before Opening Day. While some in the XRP community believe that a deregulation may be on the cards under the new leadership, no official statements have been released.
Despite the lack of concrete information about the discussion, crypto supporters have been very receptive to the meeting. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, congratulated Garlinghouse directly, writing, “Well done Brad.” The sentiment was echoed by other organizers.
Moon Lambo (@MoonLamboio) wrote on X “If anyone thought Trump wasn’t serious about making crypto great again, you can put that fear OVER!!! $XRP.” Pro-XRP advocate Morgan Bill commented “Love that” and Joey Swoll (@TheJoeySwoll) added: “Make crypto great again! GET IN! #XRPARMY”
However, not everyone reacted uncritically. ĐΛRKHØRSΞ™ (@DarkhorseDNME4) questioned the cost of the meeting, writing, “So for the record… you know you ‘met’ Donald Trump there before Stuart said he did and you didn’t.. how much was that? I heard dinners with Trump are over $100k per seat.”
Nevertheless, the overall mood among XRP holders seems to be bearish. Analysts hope the dinner signals more friendly policy approaches under the incoming Trump administration.
Others pointed to a tweet Garlinghouse shared on Jan. 5 — just days before the Mar-a-Lago meeting — that highlighted what he described as a “Trump bull market.” In that tweet, Garlinghouse wrote, “2025 is here and the Trump bull market is real. For Ripple, this is even more personal after Gensler’s SEC effectively shut down our business opportunities here at home for years. The hope is clear and well deserved.”
Garlinghouse also revealed visible signs of pressure. “75% of Ripple’s open roles are now based in the US, whereas 4 years ago, most of the hiring was outside the US,” he revealed. In addition, he revealed that Ripple “signed more US deals in the last six weeks of 2024 (since the election) than in the previous six MONTHS.”
He attributed these changes to the “Trump effect,” arguing that the President-elect, along with allies like Scott Bessent, David Sacks, and Paul Atkins, had already “begun innovation and job growth” before he took office.
At press time, XRP traded at $2.28.
Featured image from X, chart from TradingView.com