Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Strategy Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MSTR) Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)-buying model has added pressure to the broader crypto market, arguing that long-term value in digital assets will come from utility rather than financial engineering.

Bullish On Bitcoin

In a CNBC interview on June 27, Garlinghouse said Strategy’s first Bitcoin sale in a while "definitely started something."

Its leveraged structure amplified excitement on the way up and is now compounding weakness on the way down, Garlinghouse concluded.

He pointed to Strategy’s preferred stock STRC (NASDAQ:STRC) trading roughly 25% below par as a "damning indictment," saying the situation has not helped market sentiment.

"Financial engineering does not drive long-term value," Garlinghouse noted, adding that digital assets must solve real problems at scale for customers to build liquidity, demand and trust.

Garlinghouse added that he remains bullish on Bitcoin but argued that Strategy’s approach was "not focused on the right stuff."

Critics have argued that Strategy’s ability to continuously fund Bitcoin purchases through equity issuance is effectively paused until the stock regains a premium valuation.

BTC – Store-Of-Value Asset

While Bitcoin remains the dominant store-of-value asset, Ripple is positioning XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), stablecoins and institutional payments infrastructure as part of a broader shift toward tokenized finance.  

Despite that, he said he is bullish on Bitcoin, calling the current pullback a time to "be greedy when others are fearful," while reiterating that Bitcoin’s long-term value lies in its role as digital gold and XRP’s utility remains focused in bringing traditional finance onto blockchain.

The interview also highlighted on the convergence of artificial intelligence, stablecoins and tokenization, explaining how blockchain rails could become financial infrastructure for machines, autonomous agents and tokenized assets.

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