Brad Garlinghouse says 99% of cryptocurrencies will ‘probably go to zero’ 

In a recent live interview with Bloomberg, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse made a bleak prediction that 99% of all cryptocurrencies will “probably go to zero”.

Garlinghouse noted that there has “historically been a lot of hype in the crypto-ecosystem” which has allowed Ripple to experiment and find technology that works in this bleeding-edge industry.

But despite this, Garlinghouse isn’t optimistic that many crypto start-ups will survive.

When asked by the interviewer if he believes there are too many competing crypto-assets, Garlinghouse responded:

“I agree with you, I think there are too many. There are around 3,000 different digital assets that trade on a daily basis now. I think anytime there’s a new market, there are a lot of people who run into that market to show that they can solve a problem and deliver customer needs. I have said publicly before that 99% of crypto probably goes to zero.”

Following on from this, Garlinghouse explained that the remaining 1% of projects, which are focused on solving real problems for customers at scale, will thrive.

He described these companies as “game-changing” and believes they could be poised to grow in the decades ahead.

The news comes as little surprise to long-term crypto enthusiasts who have witnessed the rise and fall of thousands of crypto projects eager to take advantage of the constant crypto hype cycle.

The majority of these projects either have little substance or simply have no real need to deploy a blockchain token.

Many experts have drawn parallels between cryptocurrencies and the dot-com bubble, which saw multiple businesses start and fail in the early days of the internet.

However, those that did survive became tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Yahoo!, which dominate our internet use today.

Other prominent skeptics

Garlinghouse’s comments are just the latest in a long line of skepticism from both within the blockchain industry and external experts.

Famous economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed ‘Dr Doom’ for his role in predicting the 2008 financial crisis, has also previously stated that “99% of cryptocurrencies are worthless”.

Roubini claims that while he is open to innovation within the blockchain space, he believes that the ICO hype and the multitude of projects that emerged from it was “the fraud of the century“.

Similar detractors include American economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who argues that once the dream of a blockchain future fades, “the disappointment will probably collapse the whole thing”.

The challenge for crypto investors going forward is identifying and participating in the 1% of projects which are likely to be a success.