Ripple CEO Garlinghouse responds to SEC complaint against XRP

Published at: Dec. 23, 2020

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has responded to the latest regulatory complaint against XRP, assuring shareholders that the company will prove their case in the court. In a Dec. 22 blog post, Garlinghouse argued that the legal action against the XRP cryptocurrency brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is an “assault on crypto at large.”

The executive is confident that the regulatory action will have a “snowball effect” on the industry as a whole, potentially affecting major players like Coinbase and all other cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH):

“Ripple, Chris and I may be the ones named in the filing, but this is an assault on crypto at large. In this case, XRP is a proxy for every other ‘alt-coin’ in the space. From there, you have a snowball effect; this isn’t good news for any market maker, exchanges like Coinbase, etc. This sets a terrible industry-wide precedent for any company working with a digital asset.”

Garlinghouse went on to say that the SEC is “engaged in an all-out attack on the crypto industry,” despite the regulator claiming that it is committed to fostering innovation in the digital asset space.

But Ripple will prove their case in the court, Garlinghouse assured. The CEO emphasized that XRP is not an “investment contract” as holders have no connection or relationship with Ripple. Garlinghouse also stressed that the market value of XRP is not correlated with Ripple’s activities, unlike securities. “We are not only on the right side of the law, but we will be on the right side of history,” Garlinghouse stated.

The CEO also noted that the SEC’s action further pushes Ripple to move their headquarters outside the United States. However, the company says it still looks forward to working with the new government in order to find a solution. As previously reported, Japan is a primary candidate for Ripple’s new headquarters. In early December, Garlinghouse claimed that U.S. investors make up only 5% of global Ripple customers.

On Dec. 22, the SEC filed a complaint with federal district court in Manhattan, alleging that XRP is a security and accusing Ripple of violating laws by raising over $1.3 billion. Some industry players subsequently claimed that they will not put any efforts to resist the SEC’s decision to deem XRP a security.

Amid reports on the upcoming legal action against Ripple, XRP tumbled 21% on Dec. 22. At publishing time, XRP is down 22% over the past 24 hours, trading at around $0.35. 

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