The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its lawsuit against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. The move comes as a big win for Ripple and the XRP community, marking the third consecutive legal victory in its ongoing battle with the SEC.
Garlinghouse took to X to share his excitement and make the SEC’s determination to ruin them and the San Francisco-based cross-border payments firm.
The CEO also highlighted Ripple’s remarkable sequence of victories with the capability of brightening the future of XRP going forward.
Garlinghouse wrote, “Today was an even better day. Ripple: 3 SEC: 0. In all seriousness, Chris and I (in a case involving no claims of fraud or misrepresentations) were targeted by the SEC in a ruthless attempt to personally ruin us and the company so many have worked hard to build for over a decade.”
Today was an even better day.
Ripple: 3
SEC: 0In all seriousness, Chris and I (in a case involving no claims of fraud or misrepresentations) were targeted by the SEC in a ruthless attempt to personally ruin us and the company so many have worked hard to build for over a… https://t.co/YsQxewFnj9
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 19, 2023
This new development, shared by defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor James K. Filan (@FilanLaw), builds on a series of significant milestones for Ripple.
XRP Declared a Non-Security Asset (July):
In July, Judge Analisa Torres handed down a pivotal ruling, clarifying that secondary sales of XRP did not constitute investment contracts and tokens sold could not be classified as securities under the SEC’s regulations. This ruling was a big win as various exchanges began to relist XRP following the news.
SEC Denied of Filing Interlocutory Appeal (October):
The second victory came in early October when Judge Torres denied the SEC’s motion to file an interlocutory appeal. This decision reinforced the SEC’s weak case against Ripple and was another big victory for the tech giant.
SEC Drops Charges (October):
The most recent victory is the SEC’s decision to drop charges against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, specifically related to their alleged involvement in aiding and abetting the sale of XRP, which the SEC had previously claimed was an unregistered security.
Garlinghouse stated that the SEC “kept its eye off the ball” and failed to protect U.S. consumers and businesses. He added that it feels good to be vindicated.
The SEC’s strategy of going after crypto companies have been falling apart. The regulator recently let the deadline to appeal the Grayscale ruling expire, and a top player in the industry now believes the SEC will approve Spot Bitcoin ETFs before the year runs out.
Garlinghouse thanked his lawyers for this victory, mentioning Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, Deborah McCrimmon, and Matt Solomon from Clearly Gottlieb.
The implications of these legal victories are substantial for Ripple and the XRP community. The dismissal of charges against its executives further strengthens Ripple’s stance against the SEC. It is important to note that the lawsuit against Ripple has not been dismissed, and trial proceedings will begin in April 2024.
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