Bitcoin tribalism is affecting the crypto market

Bitcoin remains the number one cryptocurrency by market cap and accounts for more than 40% of the total crypto market cap.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently told CNBC that tribalism around Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is currently holding the cryptocurrency back. 

The cryptocurrency market is worth roughly $2 trillion, but Garlinghouse said it has room for growth. Garlinghouse said;

“Polarization isn’t healthy in my judgement. I own bitcoin, I own ether, and I own some others. I am an absolute believer that this industry is going to continue to thrive.” 

According to Garlinghouse, the major cryptocurrencies can all grow without anyone affecting the growth of the other. He compared the current cryptocurrency market to the dot-com era of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He said;

“Yahoo could be successful, and so could eBay. They’re solving different problems. There’s different use cases and different audiences, and different markets. I think a lot of those parallels exist today.”

Despite the growth recorded by the industry, some cryptocurrencies have attracted quite a dedicated following. We have Bitcoin maximalists and maximalists of other cryptocurrencies like Ether and Solana.

However, Garlinghouse believes this fractionalisation is hurting the cryptocurrency industry more than it is doing it good. He pointed out that fractionalisation has affected the crypto industry in terms of lobbying with policymakers in Washington. Garlinghouse added that;

“The lack of coordination in Washington, D.C., amongst the crypto industry, I find to be shocking.”

In March, United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling on the government to look into the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies.

Ripple has been embroiled in a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since 2020 after the regulatory agency claimed the company issued XRP tokens as unregistered securities.

The SEC had sued Ripple and some of its executives for selling over $1 billion worth of XRP in an unregistered securities offering.