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- Garlinghouse recently noted that on every item that the SEC cared about in the legal fight against Ripple, the agency lost the battle, from XRP’s security status to individual battles against him and Larsen.
- The Ripple CEO also said he welcomes an XRP spot ETF and believes it’s only a matter of time before one launches, but he declined to confirm whether the company has been in talks with BlackRock and others.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has consistently lost its legal battles against Ripple, and as the ultimate showdown edges closer, CEO Brad Garlinghouse is confident that the company will emerge victorious in what would be a landmark victory for the entire crypto industry.
Garlinghouse was on Bloomberg for an interview this week where he tore into Gary Gensler and his agency for their continued unwarranted and unjustified crackdown on his firm and the entire industry at large.
“They have lost consistently,” he told Bloomberg, adding:
They lost the Ripple case on everything they care about…what the courts have said in the cases they have brought up, [like the one]with Ripple, the court determined that XRP is not in and of itself a security. […] The case against me and Chris Larsen was dismissed with prejudice. The SEC has lost consistently.
The landmark ruling that XRP isn’t a security was delivered last July and was the first in a series of blows to the SEC’s case against Ripple.
After nearly 3 years, the Court’s July 13 decision delivered a landmark win for Ripple and the entire U.S. crypto industry: XRP is not a security.
Progress is worth fighting for.https://t.co/rm4cMGDVek
— Ripple (@Ripple) July 19, 2023
And while the SEC has been embarrassed by Ripple and other crypto firms, Garlinghouse believes Gensler will continue coming at crypto companies. He will only stop when he’s been defeated way too many times to justify future actions or if “Congress leans in and writes new legislation.” The latter is unlikely in an election year, Garlinghouse acknowledged.
Garlinghouse Talks XRP ETF and Compliance
With Bitcoin spot ETFs the most impactful trend of the year, the possibility of an XRP ETF inevitably arose. According to Garlinghouse, “It only makes sense that there will be other ETFs,” and with XRP being one of the largest cryptos in the market, he welcomes the development.
BlackRock has become the king of crypto ETFs, with its Bitcoin ETF attracting over $5 billion. There has been speculation on whether Ripple has been working with the Wall Street giant in preparation for an XRP ETF, but Garlinghouse declined to comment on the same.
And while ETFs give an added layer of investor protection, Garlinghouse believes that the most critical metric is solving real-world problems. While Bitcoin has cemented its position as a store of value, XRP is perfect for payment.
For Ripple, compliance is the most important focus this year, with Garlinghouse citing FTX and Binance as examples of why crypto firms must prioritize compliance. The two exchanges have faced varying consequences, with FTX collapsing while Binance had to settle with US regulators for billions. The two former CEOs face jail time for their laxity.
Meanwhile, XRP has dipped below $0.55 in the past day. At press time, the token changes hands for $0.5402, shedding 1.60% in the past 24 hours as trading volume dipped by over 26% to $1.2 billion.
