Reportedly, Ripple got found to spend money to influence blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation in the US.   The news from the Center for Responsive Politics states that Ripple has been lobbying the American Government during the first three quarters of 2019.  A nonpartisan research group has gathered information from the Senate Office of Public Records.

Ripple has spent $170,000 to lobby the Executive Office of President Donald Trump concerning blockchain and cryptocurrency.  Reportedly in 2018, Ripple had spent $450,000 lobbying in 2018.

During October, Ripple announced that they are opening a dedicated office in Washington DC. Previously in July, Ripple occupied a whole page in the Wall Street Journal, asking the “Lawmakers in Congress to recognize the potential that blockchain and cryptocurrency have to boost the US economy and the dollar.”

Then the Tweet read thus: “#Ripple CEO writes open letter to Congress over regulatory uncertainty.  Ripple adds a Paid add in the WSJ @WSJ credit to @jcjuarez108 for the image. pic.twitter.com/I0HpJjbdzd — 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝑿𝑹𝑷 (@BankXRP) July 29, 2019.”

Ripple Lobbying – Crypto Regulation Bills

During 2019, Congress introduced several digital currency and blockchain policies.  These bills are expected to be processed despite the forthcoming presidential elections. Facebook’s Libra influenced the need for a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Accordingly to the Digital Currency Center, nearly 27 bills about encryption have been forwarded to the respective committees. However, several policy advocates opine that a lot of energy will be spent in the new round of elections and that presidential campaigns to be one that will consume most of the time. Thus, facilitating little or no time for meaningful lawmaking.

Sydney Ifergan, the crypto expert, tweeted:  “It takes relevant committees and relevant people with due expertise to get the cryptocurrency regulatory bills passed on time.  Considering the current political scenario, any crypto regulatory bill is likely to be half baked.”

Kristin Smith, Blockchain Association executive director, opined that new crypto-related legislation is relatively unlikely to be passed in 2020; however, she opined that if anything passes it will be a small bill or a little initiative, which in her opinion is a good move installing the foundation stone for future regulation.

Ripple Lobbying – Cryptocurrency Bill 2020

Cryptocurrency bill 2020 was introduced as a draft in 2019; however, it is not yet submitted for voting.  The bill is set to define the regulatory powers of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while further dividing cryptocurrencies into different categories.