Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse slams SEC and its chairman Gary Gensler, saying that the commission lost everything they cared about.
Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO at Ripple Labs, has taken a swipe at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its chairman Gary Gensler.
During a fireside chat at Messari Mainnet 2023, Garlinghouse referred to Gensler as a bully.
“You have to stand up to a bully … he’s pursuing power, he’s pursuing politics. Not sound policy,” Garlinghouse remarked.
Garlinghouse’s remark was shared recently by popular lawyer and crypto journalist Jeff Roberts.
“You have to stand up to a bully … he’s pursuing power, he’s pursuing politics. Not sound policy.”
Ripple CEO on SEC Chair. He’s not wrong
Also notable that Gensler has led one-time crypto foes @twobitidiot and @bgarlinghouse to become allies pic.twitter.com/GS2j1YDeP0
— Jeff Roberts (@jeffjohnroberts) September 20, 2023
SEC Lost Everything They Care About
In a separate development, the official X account of Messari also shared an excerpt of Garlinghouse’s remarks from the event.
Commenting on the court ruling in the SEC v. Ripple case, Garlinghouse said the securities regulator lost everything it cared about.
“A freight train was driven through Gensler’s arguments that these are all securities,” Garlinghouse added.
Ripple’s @bgarlinghouse comes out swinging:
“Everything the SEC cares about, they lost… A freight train was driven through Gensler’s arguments that these are all securities.” pic.twitter.com/eBKnBYxW2b
— Messari (@MessariCrypto) September 20, 2023
Notably, Gensler has claimed that everything other than Bitcoin is a security. The SEC has further backed this claim by giving several crypto assets, including XRP and ADA, the securities tag.
On December 22, 2020, the SEC charged Ripple and two of its execs with selling XRP as an unregistered security.
However, Ripple did not let the SEC get away with its claim, as it engaged the regulator in a heated legal battle that lasted nearly three years. After spending over $100 million defending the case, a federal court ruled that XRP is not a security.
Furthermore, the court also ordered that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP on secondary markets and other distributions were not investment contracts.
The Ripple ruling significantly affected the SEC’s quest to label all altcoins as securities. Hence, the commission is seeking an interlocutory appeal in order to overturn the decision.
Garlinghouse Vocal Against SEC
Garlinghouse’s recent comment may not surprise many, given that the Ripple CEO has always been vocal in criticizing the SEC.
His confidence surged tremendously after Ripple recorded a partial victory against the regulator. It bears mentioning that the SEC has a case against Garilinghouse and Ripple chairman Chris Larsen.
The SEC alleged that both Garlinghouse and Larsen were reckless in aiding and abetting Ripple to distribute XRP as an unregistered security.
Notably, the case has been scheduled for a trial in Q2 2024. The parties have submitted their blackout dates, informing the court of their availability for the upcoming proceeding.
Meanwhile, the SEC wants the court to halt other proceedings of the lawsuit pending the resolution of the interlocutory appeal.
