Ripple Chief Says SEC’s Lawsuit Misguided, XRP Trading Can’t Be Stopped

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) allegations that the payments startup participated in an illegal securities offering is misguided.

In an Axios on HBO interview, Garlinghouse explains that XRP does not have the hallmark characteristics of a security.

“That lawsuit I think is misguided. I think the idea that XRP is a security, it has traded out there for eight years. If it was a security, I guess we should’ve known that a long time ago…

If you own a security, it gives you ownership of a company. If Ripple goes away, XRP’s going to keep trading. Many countries around the world – the UK, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore – they all have clarity and certainty that XRP is not a security. In fact, the United States is the only country on the planet that has suggested that XRP is a security.”

Garlinghouse also believes that the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple would put the US at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

“That’s why I say, this isn’t just bad for Ripple, it’s bad for crypto broadly here in the United State and it’s driving that activity, it’s driving that entrepreneurial activity outside the United States. I think that definitely bodes poorly for the US crypto industry at large. I think if you believe these are the future infrastructures for payment networks, I think we should care about what countries have control over those technologies.”

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