“Was It Sen. Lummis or Her Staff?” Ripple CEO’s Canceled Meeting Raises Doubts Over Lummis’ Family Ties to Bitcoin-Only Views

Senator Cynthia Lummis’ decision to cancel a meeting with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has triggered questions over Bitcoin-only views.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently shared that he traveled to Washington, D.C. to support efforts for practical crypto regulations, especially concerning stablecoins and market structure. 

Senator Lummis Cancels Meeting with Ripple CEO

However, the trip hit a roadblock when Senator Cynthia Lummis, who chairs the Digital Assets Subcommittee, canceled a meeting with him and reportedly refused to reschedule.

Heading to DC to champion sensible pro-crypto legislation around stablecoins and market structure, and I’m very encouraged to see our elected officials look at crypto as it should be – a multichain industry.

That said, @SenLummis, as Chair of the Digital Assets Subcommittee,…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 19, 2025

Garlinghouse was visibly surprised by the development, pointing out that Lummis represents one of the most crypto-welcoming states, Wyoming, and hoped she would support the wider crypto space. 

He invited her to join a public conversation on X or at a future event to discuss ways to help the U.S. become the global leader in crypto, a goal he said aligns with the Trump Administration’s objectives. He made it clear he remains committed to backing that mission.

Conflict of Interest?

Shortly after, a Cowboy Crypto, an XRP community figure, called attention to Senator Lummis’ son-in-law, Will Cole. According to him, Cole, who works as Head of Product at a Bitcoin payments company, had reposted a message mocking Garlinghouse. 

He further pointed out that Lummis’ non-profit organization OpenSecrets has donors that include A16Z, claiming that her family has deep ties to Bitcoin. Cowboy Crypto questioned whether this could be a conflict of interest.

In response, while Garlinghouse noted that the information about Cole’s connection to Lummis was eye-opening, he acknowledged that unexpected changes can happen in a Senator’s daily schedule. 

Thanks for this info. Certainly enlightening that Will Cole is related to Sen Lummis.

I understand that things happen in a Senator’s day that force their schedules to change, but for a Congressional staff to say "unable to reschedule” is really troubling (when we've been unable…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 19, 2025

However, he found it concerning that her staff stated they could not reschedule the meeting, especially since Ripple had never managed to meet with her one-on-one in six years. Garlinghouse stressed that Ripple is an American company working to grow the crypto industry for the benefit of all citizens. 

Notably, there are public records showing that Lummis purchased Bitcoin worth between $50,000 and $100,000 in 2021, which she disclosed in a financial filing. 

Also, she stated that she holds only Bitcoin and no other digital assets. Some have taken this as a sign that she may lean toward Bitcoin-only views, though that has not been confirmed. Her daughter also supports Bitcoin, but there is no proof suggesting she shares any Bitcoin-only beliefs.

Lummis’ Son-in-Law’s Bitcoin-only Views

Meanwhile, Will Cole, her son-in-law, has a long track record of being openly supportive of a Bitcoin-only future and critical of Ripple and XRP. 

In February 2020, Ripple filed to register as a business in Wyoming. A year later, Caitlin Long, the founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, welcomed Ripple’s move in a post on X, pointing to Wyoming’s crypto-friendly approach. 

Some Bitcoin advocates reacted negatively, calling for her to be “canceled” over the message. However, one crypto investor argued that the state shouldn’t choose winners and losers in the crypto space. 

In response, Cole said he agreed that no project should be favored but insisted that any mention of Ripple should also point out that, in his view, the project mostly made its founders rich at the expense of retail investors through misleading tactics.

Also, during the FTX collapse in November 2022, shortly after the company filed for bankruptcy, Cole brought up Ripple again. He called it a centralized scam and suggested that the real concern wasn’t just about whether XRP qualified as a security, but deeper problems.

This whole ordeal surfaced something I had completely forgotten about. Yes, XRP/Ripple is a centralized joke of a scam. Security fraud is the least of the issues.

— Will Cole (@willcole) November 13, 2022

“Everything else is either credit or fraudulent”

Last year, after COPA won its case against Craig Wright, who claimed to be Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, Cole used the moment to draw attention to others he sees as harmful to crypto. 

He listed Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb alongside other prominent figures like Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, calling them frauds. In a classic Bitcoin-maxi view, he suggested that Bitcoin is the only form of money, while everything else is either debt or a scam.

Don't let COPA's victory over charlatan Craig Wright distract you from the fact that we're still surrounded by conmen like Charles Hoshkinson, Dan Larimer, Jed McCaleb and anyone still involved with Ripple. #Bitcoin is money, everything else is credit…or fraudulent.

— Will Cole (@willcole) March 14, 2024

Cole currently leads product development at Zaprite, a Bitcoin payments company backed by Lightning Ventures, a venture firm focused solely on Bitcoin. The firm includes well-known Bitcoin supporters like Stacy Herbert and Max Keiser, who have long spoken against Ripple and XRP. 

In the wake of the canceled meeting between Garlinghouse and Lummis, Cole has reposted messages from other Bitcoin supporters criticizing the Ripple CEO.