SEC suing Ripple! SEC suing Ripple – XRP tumbles 12% on the news! US regulators announced that they were set to file a lawsuit against the business, with Brad Garlinghouse issuing a statement confirming the news last night.
The looming case against Ripple revolves around the company’s alleged control over XRP. Ripple was founded in 2012 as one of the US’s early crypto companies. The business created XRP, which it began to sell off – it owns the majority of XRP and holds it, selling them off in fixed chunks at allotted times.
XRP is used as a cross-border remittance and has become popular with investors who see it as a disruptive in the money exchange business. It’s become so popular with investors that it has risen to become the third most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum respectively.
The SEC will reportedly argue that Ripple owns most of XRP and controls its supply – therefore, XRP is not a currency but an unlicensed security. The SEC will allegedly then claim that Ripple has been selling these securities without the SEC’s approval.
Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, says that the SEC’s conclusions are fundamentally wrong. He pointed to the Justice Department and FinCEN that labeled XRP as a currency.
“Make no mistake, we are ready to fight and win — this battle is just beginning,” he said. Ripple has long said that simply holding XRP in trust while an organic ecosystem grows. They will also argue that a fixed schedule for XRP sales does not constitute control of the asset.
Garlinghouse said the SEC was “out of step” with other G20 nations and the US government on the issue. He said the regulator had “voted to attack crypto”.
Garlinghouse also targeted Jay Clayton, the outgoing SEC chairman, saying he was a “grinch” who was “picking winners and trying to limit US innovation in the crypto industry.”
“This is not the first time the SEC has tried to go beyond its statutory authority,” Michael Kellogg, a lawyer at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, said in a statement provided by Ripple. “The courts have corrected it before and will do so again.”
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