TL;DR

Ripple CTO David Schwartz considers this co-founder the most important person in the companys history for his early commitment, among other reasons. Attorney John E Deaton believes CEO Brad Garlinghouse has played a crucial role in the firms legal successes and should be labeled CEO of the decade if the firm goes public.

Who is Ripples Most Valuable Member?

David Schwartz  chief technology officer at Ripple  recently allowed X users to shoot him with all sorts of questions. One person asked him who was the most important person in Ripples history as he could only point one from five choices: Jed McCaleb (CTO of the firm until 2013), Schwartz himself, Chris Larsen (Executive Chairman), Brad Garlinghouse (CEO), or others.

The current chief technology officer picked Larsen because of his commitment to the idea when that was hard to do. He also admitted that the Executive Chairman really believed in Ripples potential well before him.

Chris Larsen is one of the co-founders of Ripple Labs the fintech company behind Ripple and the XRP Ledger. He served as the firms CEO until 2016, when he brought on Brad Garlinghouse to take the helm. 

Larsen took a blow in December 2020 when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a legal action against Ripple, Garlinghouse, and himself. The regulator accused them of raising over $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP. 

However, the watchdog dropped charges against the executives in October 2023. This represented Ripples third partial court victory, which, according to some, positioned the agency as the underdog in the lawsuit.

The legal spat recently entered its trial phase, with both parties presenting necessary documents and abiding by the magistrates rules. Earlier this month, the American lawyer Jeremy Hogan claimed that the briefs stage had been completed, and now the entities must wait for the judges ruling.

Garlinghouses Contribution to Ripples Advancement

According to John E Deaton (a well-known US attorney who stands behind thousands of XRP investors in the case against the SEC), Brad Garlinghouse should be put on the pedestal. He thinks the CEO has played the biggest role in Ripples achievements in the legal field. 

Deaton went further, suggesting that Garlinghouse must be included in the shortlist for CEO of the decade if the company files for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next few years.