Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse strongly criticized former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Jay Clayton’s remarks regarding the agency’s regulatory approach. Since the first quarter of 2023, the SEC has initiated various regulatory actions against crypto exchanges and companies.
During an interview with CNBC on June 29, 2023, Clayton expressed his view that the SEC should pursue legal action against specific companies only when they have strong legal grounds. He emphasized that regulatory agencies should introduce regulations and legal cases they believe will successfully withstand judicial scrutiny.
Watching this clip makes my blood boil.
The hypocrisy is shocking. @CNBC @SquawkCNBC should be calling him out for the bullshit.
(As a reminder, jay clayton brought the case against ripple, me and Chris Larsen. And left the building the next day).
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 28, 2023
In light of the SEC voting to dismiss the allegations without prejudice, the Ripple CEO reminded that the former SEC chair had filed a lawsuit that had little chance of success in court. In the lawsuit against Ripple, Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Christian Larsen in December 2020, the SEC accused the company and the two executives of “unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering,” alleging that they had raised more than $1.3 billion from sales of the XRP (XRP) token.
Garlinghouse said:
“As a reminder, Jay Clayton brought the case against Ripple, me and Chris Larsen. And left the building the next day.”
Clayton’s statements made in June 2023 have gained attention in light of the recent lawsuit developments involving Garlinghouse and Ripple founder Chris Larsen. As previously reported, the charges against these executives were dropped by the US SEC. Notably, the charges were brought on shortly before Clayton’s tenure as SEC Chair ended, which was well before the expected expiration date in June 2021.
Related: Ripple exec and XRP community back SEC commissioner’s LBRY lawsuit dissent
The recent exoneration of the two executives follows a decision by Judge Analisa Torres in July 2023, where it was determined that selling XRP on secondary markets to individual buyers does not qualify as an investment contract.
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