Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has provided some new information regarding his company’s ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). During a CNBC fireside chat at the Dubai Fintech Summit, Garlinghouse revealed that his company will spend $200 million to defend itself against the SEC’s lawsuit regarding XRP. The Executive expects to receive a ruling on the lawsuit within three to six month. “If we win the lawsuit, it’ll be clear what XRP is, but the rest of the industry is still going to be unclear. And the whole crypto industry needs regulatory clarity in the U.S. to really thrive,” said the Ripple boss.
The SEC sued Ripple, co-founder Chris Larsen and Garlinghouse in December 2020, claiming that the group raised over $1 billion through a non-registered ongoing digital asset security offering. Ripple, Larsen and Garlinghouse argue that XRP is not a security.
Commenting on U.S. crypto regulations, Garlinghouse, who is a U.S. citizen and CEO of a U.S.-based company, said: “It’s sad. I have sadness about this.” He added that other countries such as Dubai, Singapore and Switzerland have a clear regulatory environment that will allow them to surpass the U.S. as the financial capitals of the world. “The U.S. is getting passed, not just a little bit, but by a lot … The tough thing about this is you have a country that, I think, put politics ahead of policies. That’s not a good decision if you’re trying to invest in the economy,” said the Ripple Executive.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been alleged to have a strict enforcement-oriented approach to regulating the crypto industry. There have been many complaints about the SEC’s lack of clear guidelines for compliance, which makes it difficult for crypto companies to comply. In addition, Gensler has said that the majority of crypto tokens, other than bitcoin, are securities.
In an interview with The National published Monday, Garlinghouse opined that even if Ripple wins the lawsuit, the U.S. still needs to provide clear rules of the road and regulatory clarity. “The lawsuit will help. Other countries around the world will be ahead of where the U.S. is in adopting blockchain technologies,” he said.
Regarding Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC, Garlinghouse said: “One of the silver linings for Ripple is we’re at the end of our journey … We’re two and a half years into this lawsuit. We should have a decision pretty soon.” According to Garlinghouse, in three to six months, the court could make a ruling on the lawsuit.
The Ripple CEO shared his thoughts at the summit as Ripple is expanding in Dubai. “With 20% of our customers based in MENA [Middle East and North Africa] and clear regulatory regimes being developed, it’s no surprise that Dubai is emerging as a key global financial hub for crypto innovation to thrive,” he tweeted.
What do you make of the statements of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse? Let us know in the comments.
