In a discussion with CNBC during the Ripple Swell conference, Ripple CEO shared insight into the ongoing lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the next plan against the regulatory body.
Garlinghouse drew attention again to Ripple’s three consecutive victories over the SEC. He expressed growing confidence as he highlighted the following:
XRP Declared a Non-Security: A July 13 judgment by Judge Torres clarified that XRP itself is not considered a security. This decision allowed cryptocurrency exchanges to relist XRP, resulting in a price surge to $0.93.
SEC’s Interlocutory Appeal Denied: Judge Torres denied the SEC’s request for an interlocutory appeal in October. The SEC tried to file this appeal after the ruling, and many legal experts saw no merit in this strategy, expecting it to fail.
Charges Dropped: The SEC dropped charges against Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen with prejudice. This move by the SEC closed the door on any future claims against the Ripple executives and the trial scheduled for April 2024 was rendered unnecessary.
Garlinghouse criticized the SEC’s persistent legal actions. He highlighted the SEC’s strategy of doing the same thing repeatedly and hoping for a different outcome, drawing parallels to the popular definition of insanity and characterizing the SEC’s approach as such.
He also pointed out a similar situation involving Grayscale’s victory regarding a Bitcoin ETF in the United States, where a federal judge criticized the SEC for being arbitrary and capricious in its actions.
“The SEC, in my opinion, has lost sight of their mission to protect investors,” Ripple CEO @bgarlinghouse tells CNBC’s @dan_murphy in Dubai following its XRP token ruling. pic.twitter.com/tAW8nUciLz
— CNBC Middle East (@CNBCMiddleEast) November 10, 2023
Ripple’s Next Legal Steps
Discussing Ripple’s next steps in the lawsuit, Garlinghouse joked that he would like to see the betting odds for the case. He expressed concerns that the SEC has “lost sight of their mission to protect investors”.
He stated that Ripple was eager to hear the judge’s decision on remedies for the lawsuit, highlighting that this would consider the extent of harm to investors and the application of securities laws to institutional investors.
Ripple CEO also described the outcome of the lawsuit as a positive step for the crypto industry because the SEC has been “put in check in the United States.”
He believes the results could positively impact the entire industry and create a more favorable environment for cryptocurrency in the United States. However, if the SEC refuses to back down, Garlinghouse has expressed his resolve to take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.
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