{"id":11559,"date":"2022-06-14T02:40:42","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T02:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/ripple-counsel-slams-sec-for-trying-to-bulldoze-and-bankrupt-crypto\/"},"modified":"2022-06-14T02:40:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T02:40:44","slug":"ripple-counsel-slams-sec-for-trying-to-bulldoze-and-bankrupt-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/ripple-counsel-slams-sec-for-trying-to-bulldoze-and-bankrupt-crypto\/","title":{"rendered":"Ripple counsel slams SEC for trying to bulldoze and bankrupt crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty has slammed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for trying to \u201cbully, bulldoze, and bankrupt\u201d crypto innovation in the U.S. in the name of expanding its own regulatory territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy bringing enforcement actions\u2013or threats of potential enforcement\u2013the SEC intends to bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt crypto innovation in the U.S., all in the name of impermissibly expanding its own jurisdictional limits.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alderoty shared his views on June 13 amidst an ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the regulator, which he says is part of the \u201cSEC\u2019s assault on all crypto in the U.S.\u201d by treating every cryptocurrency as a security.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ripple Labs has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020, when the securities regulator filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple executives had used Ripple (XRP) tokens to raise funds for the company starting in 2013, claiming it was an unregistered security at the time.<\/p>\n

Ripple fought back, claiming that a 2018 speech delivered by Robert Hinman, then-Director of Corporation Finance for the SEC, had categorized Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) and by-association, XRP, as a non-security due to being \u201csufficiently decentralized\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ripple argued that the speech was in contradiction with the SEC\u2019s claims against Ripple and the XRP token, but the SEC countered the argument by claiming that the speech was the director\u2019s own personal views and not the official view of the regulator. This nuance has been one of the most pivotal aspects of the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit. <\/p>\n

\n

4 years since the (in)famous Hinman speech, and we\u2019re nowhere closer on knowing how to classify digital assets in the US \u2013 keeping every crypto, including ETH, in regulatory limbo. I penned some thoughts for @Fortune<\/a> why enough is enough, @SECGov<\/a>. https:\/\/t.co\/FB16cceaia<\/p>\n

\u2014 Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) June 13, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cDespite disclaimers that the speech was Hinman’s personal opinion and \u201cnot necessarily that of the Commission,\u201d the market took Hinman’s speech to heart,\u201d wrote Alderoty. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor Ripple, Hinman\u2019s speech affirmed the conclusion that XRP \u2013 a cryptocurrency that exists on an open, permissionless, decentralized blockchain ledger \u2013 was a commodity and\/or a virtual currency. Certainly not a security,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>Brad Garlinghouse says NFTs ‘underhyped,’ sees new use cases | Cointelegraph interview<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alderoty said the speech epitomized SEC\u2019s deliberate muddying of the regulatory waters for crypto. <\/p>\n

\u201cHere in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deliberately muddied the regulatory waters for crypto [\u2026] To unlock crypto’s true potential, we need to finally clean up this regulatory sludge.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During a Washington Post event on June 8, United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand agreed that most cryptocurrencies would likely be classed as securities under the Howey Test, with the obvious exception of Bitcoin and Ether. <\/p>\n

Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) took a slightly different view, saying that while there are \u201cprobably hundreds\u201d of coins that replicate security coins, there are also many commodity coins, such as BTC and ETH that would be regulated by his commission.<\/p>\n

The court battle between Ripple and SEC is expected to set a precedent for the treatment of cryptocurrencies, particularly altcoins under U.S. securities and commodities laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n