Ripple’s general counsel has urged U.S. lawmakers to pass
“sensible crypto legislation” amid a Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) lawsuit over the sale of xrp. “Rather than providing regulatory
clarity through rulemaking, the SEC is bullying crypto markets by filing
unproven allegations masquerading as regulation,” he opined.
Ripple’s Counsel Calls for ‘Sensible’ Crypto Regulation
Stuart Alderoty, general counsel for Ripple, stressed the importance
of sensible cryptocurrency legislation in an opinion piece published
Wednesday.
Referencing a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on
Investor Protection where Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) pushed the SEC
to go after major cryptocurrency exchanges that traded XRP, Alderoty emphasized:
Sherman’s off-base remarks underscore the urgent need for sensible crypto legislation from Washington.
The SEC sued Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen in December 2020, alleging that the XRP
sale was an unregistered securities offering. Ripple disagreed with the
SEC and has since been fighting a legal battle with the securities
regulator. Recently, Garlinghouse discussed possible outcomes of the lawsuit.
Alderoty quoted Rep. Sherman stating that “the fact remains” that “XRP … clearly is a security.” However, the Ripple counsel argued that “the real fact” is:
The filing of a lawsuit determines nothing.
Noting that the lawmaker is a Harvard-trained lawyer, Alderoty alleged: “He knows that the SEC can’t determine XRP to be a security. He knows that no country in the world has determined XRP to be a security. He knows the issue needs to be decided in the court.” Whether XRP
is a security or not has yet to be determined, the Ripple counsel
explained, adding that “when it is made, it will be made by the court.”
Alderoty has been criticizing the SEC for its approach to regulating
the crypto industry, particularly how the securities watchdog handles
the lawsuit against Ripple and its executives over the sale of XRP.
He tweeted Wednesday:
Rather than providing regulatory clarity through
rulemaking, the SEC is bullying crypto markets by filing unproven
allegations masquerading as regulation.
