Ripple said on Monday that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to file a lawsuit against the company including CEO, Brad Garlinghouse and Co-founder, Chris Larsen as defendants for selling unlicensed securities.
According to a report by Fortune, the SEC is planning to file the case as soon as possible. Garlinghouse criticized the possible action by the agency and called it an attack against the crypto market to limit the innovation in the digital assets industry to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
XRP reacted negatively to the recent news and crashed more than 17% in less than 24 hours. As of writing, the third-largest cryptocurrency is hovering around $0.46. Garlinghouse expressed his anger and said that Ripple will fight the case and mentioned that the battle is just beginning.
“Today, the SEC voted to attack crypto. Chairman Jay Clayton, in his final act, is picking winners and trying to limit US innovation in the crypto industry to BTC and ETH. We know crypto and blockchain technologies aren’t going anywhere. Ripple has and will continue to use XRP because it is the best digital asset for payments, speed, cost, scalability and energy efficiency. It’s traded on 200+ exchanges globally and will continue to thrive,” the Ripple CEO added.
Ripple’s Status
In recent years, the SEC made it clear that Bitcoin and Ethereum are cryptocurrencies, not securities, because of their decentralized nature. But, the agency seemed unsure about the status of XRP. The potential action by the SEC indicates that the agency has finally decided to treat Ripple as a security due to its centralized nature.
“The SEC, out of step with other G20 countries & the rest of the US govt should not be able to cherry-pick what innovation looks like (especially when their decision directly benefits China). Make no mistake, we are ready to fight and win, this battle is just beginning,” Garlinghouse said.
Commenting on the recent reports, Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings, said: “Japan’s FSA has already made it clear that XRP is not a security. I’m optimistic that Ripple will prevail in the final ruling in the US. SBI Holdings remains a steadfast partner to Ripple, and looks forward to expanding together in Asia.”
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