The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been guiding the crypto industry with a particularly heavy hand for a number of years, but this is slowly but surely beginning to have a negative impact on the SEC itself. It has already suffered a number of defeats. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse describes the policymaker as unsettled.
Rippel corners SEC
In July, the judge in the SEC-Ripple lawsuit ruled that secondary sales of XRP are not covered under securities law and can therefore proceed. Shortly thereafter, several crypto exchanges decided to offer XRP to their customers again.
Last week, the SEC suffered a second loss in the Grayscale case. A second judge ruled that the SEC should consider Grayscale’s request to convert bitcoin exchange fund GBTC into a so-called spot ETF. The crypto industry viewed this as their second major win against the SEC.
This sparked another surge in crypto exchange funds in hopes that the SEC would allow more spot bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. Unfortunately, the SEC remains adamant, having now again delayed ruling on all seven filings in question. This caused bitcoin price to return to where it was before Grayscale’s victory.
Ripple (XRP) boss: SEC has lost control
Ripple boss Brad Garlinghouse is struggling with this. On Twitter, he responded to Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty. The attorney describes how the SEC is now in trouble, calling its policies hypocritical and even “illegal.”
Garlinghouse added that the past few months have felt like a demanding summer. He believes the SEC has lost control, constantly misunderstanding the facts and even misinterpreting the law.
While these are great results… and it feels like a summer of justice…
It is sad that so many in the US crypto community have had to resort to legal action to prove this SEC is out of control and consistently WRONG on facts and laws.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) August 29, 2023
For example, the SEC first emphasized that former SEC CEO Bill Hinman’s now-infamous speech fell under official policy. But Ripple was able to use this in the lawsuit against the SEC. Ripple did so gratefully, and the SEC has since claimed that the speech was Hinman’s personal opinion. Ripple may now consider subpoenaing several former top SEC executives.