The lawsuit between Ripple and SEC seems far from over as recent developments in the case also suggest that it may be extended into the new year. The biggest issue, in this case, is the connection between the current chairman of the regulator Gary Gensler and former chairman Jay Clayton and how Ethereum is about to get Ripple a free pass to the business model.
Ripple CEO Questions the Gensler-Clayton Meeting
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, recently appeared on Fox on October 18 to discuss the ongoing lawsuit, Ripple’s position, and the future of XRP in the United States.
In the interview, Garlinghouse questioned the Gensler-Clayton meeting before the XRP lawsuit, calling it “bad optics”. He went on to reiterate that Ripple will not seek resolution unless XRP is classified as a non-security.
As the proceedings progressed, the SEC raid on unregistered securities changed, and now the regulator appears to be the real culprit in the case with further discoveries.
This 10-month lawsuit was filed in late December 2020. What is more questionable, however, is the timing of the lawsuit and not the allegations. The lawsuit was filed days before Jay Clayton left the agency. Now, Ripple and several XRP supporters claim that this lawsuit is carefully planned to encourage Ethereum development in the market, and Clayton has also joined an Ethereum-centric investment company.
Garlinghouse Questions the Status of Ethereum
Ripple’s CEO emphasized that the role of government agencies is not to select winners and losers but to enforce the law for everyone equally.
The SEC lawsuit against Ripple is about the distribution and sale of unregistered securities, while Ripple’s defense is more about Ethereum security status and the reason it got a free pass. Although Ripple continues to make significant strides outside of the US SEC lawsuit.
