Ripple CEO criticizes SEC for stifling crypto innovation with aggressive enforcement

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse mentioned the U.S. SEC’s actions towards the crypto trade have failed in defending buyers and must reassess its regulatory technique.

Chatting with CNBC’s Dan Murphy on the Ripple Swell conference in Dubai, Garlinghouse expressed concern concerning the SEC’s focus and questioned:

“Who’re they defending on this journey?”

The CEO mentioned the watchdog’s enforcement strategy to regulating the crypto trade has solely stifled progress. He added that the trade wants a brand new tailored regulatory framework that correctly considers the nuances of digital belongings.

Court docket ruling towards SEC

The criticism comes after a multi-year authorized battle between Ripple and the SEC, which accused the blockchain firm and its executives of conducting a $1.three billion securities fraud by promoting XRP to retail buyers.

Nevertheless, in a pivotal victory for Ripple in July, a choose dominated that XRP isn’t a safety, marking a major improvement within the ongoing case.

The CEO additionally referenced a current victory for Grayscale, a digital asset supervisor, within the context of a Bitcoin ETF software. He highlighted that the federal choose presiding over the case had criticized the watchdog for being “arbitrary and capricious.”

Based on Garlinghouse:

“Usually, judges are usually fairly down the center and attempt to not be dramatic — these are damning phrases.”

Garlinghouse mentioned that the watchdog might lastly reassess its regulatory technique because the enforcement strategy of solely submitting lawsuits has not labored in its favor and solely led to stifling innovation within the U.S.

Federal legal guidelines wanted

Garlinghouse expressed hope that the regulatory stance towards the digital belongings trade will shift to a extra optimistic word following these authorized developments. He mentioned the federal government must take a extra proactive strategy towards supervising the trade, beginning with new digital asset legal guidelines.

He added that the U.S. should transfer past a scenario the place crypto regulation is set by litigation if the trade is to thrive within the nation. He known as for the introduction of federal legal guidelines governing digital currencies by Congress, emphasizing the necessity to break free from the present regulation sample by enforcement.

Garlinghouse reiterated that XRP shouldn’t be thought-about a safety, emphasizing that federal legal guidelines might present readability and stability for the trade.

Because the legal battle continues, the following key step within the Ripple-SEC case is the treatments discovery course of, with the SEC having 90 days from Nov. 9 to conduct associated discovery, in line with a proposed schedule.