Ripple CEO cautions against institutional Bitcoin investments in Biden era

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse took a dig at companies buying Bitcoin last week as the climatic effects of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, like BTC, may be met with stern regulations if Democrat Joe Biden is elected as the US president.

At press time, Biden has 290 electoral votes in the US against Republican Donald Trump's 214 - putting him on track for a win when the final results are counted and confirmed later this week.

Biden's election would bring a new agenda on various issues than Trump, starting with the global battle against climate change.

The 77-year-old has earlier vouched to take steps against the effects that large corporations create on the climate - with political observers stating relevant regulations could be on the cards for top tech players.

Crypto entrepreneurs have taken notice of this fact, with Garlinghouse suggesting in a tweet last week that Biden's stricter rules on climate change would mean a tougher operational environment for PoW cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

6 - Biden to require public companies to disclose climate change-related activities and GHG emissions in their operations.

Love to see the action on climate change - first NYDFS, now this.

"Love to see the action on climate change - first NYDFS, now this. Public companies holding BTC - may want to pay attention."

Its purchase is dwarfed by software enterprise player MicroStrategy, whose $425 million bet on Bitcoin could see a backlash in a more climate responsible corporate world.

So would the climatic impact of companies investing in Bitcoin happens to spur greater regulation for cryptocurrencies in the US? Your guess is as good as mine.