Ripple’s Chris Larsen to fund police surveillance, drones in San Francisco

By admin On Jun 4, 2025

Ripple Labs’ Chris Larsen wants to give the San Francisco Police Department $9.4 million to fund its police surveillance unit and become the sublandlord of its new base of operations.

The reported multi-million dollar gift, which requires approval from the city’s board of supervisors, is to be given to the police department’s “Real-Time Investigations Center.”

Ripple Labs will retroactively fund the surveillance-focused unit’s relocation from the reportedly “decrepit” San Francisco Hall of Justice to a lavish high-rise on 315 Montgomery Street, which the cryptocurrency firm will sublet for free.

The interior of 315 Montgomery Street sourced from Vornado Realty Trust.

According to an ordinance document shared by local news outlet Mission Local, Larsen’s non-profit, the San Francisco Police Community Foundation, is gifting $7.25 million that will be used to purchase 12 drones, various software, and parking fees.

From this sum, $1.6 million will provide the unit with a high-tech “video wall” and other computer equipment. An additional gift will also cover the cost of card readers, moving in, and additional facility costs.

However, surveillance policy specialist Matthew Guariglia told Mission Local that he’s concerned about the police’s growing power to spend on surveillance.

He said, “Not only do you not have control over what technology police use and how they use it, you also can’t even claim the reins that says that, ‘We can control how much money the police department gets.’”

XRP founder suffered $150 million hack

Larsen is the billionaire co-founder of Ripple Labs, a cryptocurrency firm behind the token XRP. He’s a vocal advocate of expanding the surveillance capabilities of San Francisco’s police and spent $250,000 to back a series of proposals that did exactly that.

No amount of drone surveillance, however, could stop him from being hacked for $150 million worth of XRP after the password-storing firm, which held the passwords to his accounts, was breached.

On the crypto side of things, he sent $100 million worth of XRP to crypto exchange Coinbase last January. While it’s unclear what happened to these funds, the act of sending crypto to an exchange is seen as a sign that it is being sold.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has also been dropping cases against Ripple Labs, and the two entities reached a $50 million settlement last month. This is despite lobbyists representing Ripple Labs almost ruining relations between US President Donald Trump and the crypto firm.

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