Following the landmark decision in the SEC lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse addressed the situation in an interview with Bloomberg TV on July 14, 2023.
As a reminder, a lawsuit initiated by the SEC in December 2020 alleged that Ripple Labs and its executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian A. Larsen illegally offered and sold securities in violation of section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933. After a series of hearings and deliberations, Judge Analisa Torres delivered her decision on July 13, 2023.
During a conversation with Matt Miller and John Erlichman at Bloomberg Markets, Brad Garlinghouse wryly remarked about the “SEC’s mission” to protect investors. He criticized the SEC for the lawsuit against Ripple and welcomed the court’s decision that the sale of XRP through exchanges, its use for compensation and its use to stimulate the ecosystem are not tantamount to selling investment contracts.
Ripple’s CEO emphasized that the vast majority (95%) of Ripple’s customers are outside the US, highlighting that this is where their consumer demand lies. He opined that the US is losing ground in the crypto industry due to the fact that the SEC pays more attention to “strength and politics” than “prudent politics.” He suggested that the lawsuit against Ripple illustrates the SEC’s attempt to put vague and arbitrary rules ahead of the industry’s need for clarity and guidance.
Discussing the possibility of an SEC appeal, Garlinghouse said XRP is not currently considered a security under the ruling. He predicted that the appeal process would likely take years and expressed optimism that if the SEC filed an appeal, it would only further strengthen the court’s decision. The CEO bluntly stated, “Now XRP is not legally a security.”
Garlinghouse criticized the SEC’s excessive stance that virtually all cryptocurrency offerings are securities.
The CEO of Ripple concluded that this verdict benefits Ripple and the entire cryptocurrency industry.
