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- Ripple CEO said that despite a slow-moving judicial process, there’s been good progress in the case with SEC.
- The U.S. SEC has accused Ripple and its executives of selling $1.3 billion worth of XRP as unregistered securities.
It is nearly 11 months since San Francisco-based Fintech startup Ripple began its battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange over the allegation of the sale of unregistered securities (XRP). While Ripple has always claimed no wrongdoing, the SEC continues with its strong allegations.
However, it seems that the tides are turning in favor of Ripple in this long-going legal battle. Speaking to CNBC on Monday, November 22, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that they are making ‘good progress’ in this case. Besides, Garlinghouse also expects that the case will reach a conclusion by the next year. In a word with CNBC’s Dan Murphy, Garlinghouse said:
We’re seeing pretty good progress despite a slow-moving judicial process. Clearly, we’re seeing good questions asked by the judge. And I think the judge realizes this is not just about Ripple, this will have broader implications.
For a long time, Ripple’s XRP had been one of the top-performing cryptocurrencies and held the Number 3 spot after Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). But ever since the SEC case, XRP has majorly shown sideways movement and continues to hold above $1. Currently, XRP is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after being surpassed by better performing digital assets.
If any favorable outcome comes from the case, we can expect some strong performance from XRP. On the other hand, Ripple technology has been gaining market acceptance among banks and other financial services firms. Its RippleNet technology facilitates instant cross-border payments leveraging the power of blockchain. Similarly, Ripple also markets other products using XRP for instant cross-border payments and on-demand liquidity.
Ripple and the SEC tussle
Late last year on December 28, 2020, the outgoing SEC chairman Jay Clayton slapped a lawsuit on Ripple accusing the company of selling XRP as illegal securities. The U.S. SEC has further cited concerns of Ripple’s ties to XRP.
As said, the securities regulator argues that the company and its founders sold $1.3 billion worth of XRP as illegal securities during its ICO days in 2013. However, Ripple has defended its position every time stating that XRP is not a security.
In the past, Garlinghouse had also lashed out at the U.S. SEC for having an unclear regulatory framework with the use of crypto. At one point, the company also mulled at shifting its base out of the U.S. to other crypto-friendly nations.
Related: Brad Garlinghouse gives the one condition under which they would settle with the SEC
Garlinghouse also said that countries like UAE, Singapore, Japan, and Switzerland have been showing “leadership” qualities when it comes to regulating crypto. On the other hand, he also criticized China and India for the crackdown on the industry. Recently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also said that the Ripple case was going better than expected.
