Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has voiced concerns over the lack of regulatory clarity in the crypto markets, directing criticism towards the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Striking Allegation Against SEC Official!
In a startling accusation towards an SEC Official, Garlinghouse took to Twitter to comment on the recent emergence of internal emails regarding a 2018 speech by former SEC official, William Hinman. The speech notably stated Hinman’s belief that both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were not securities.
Garlinghouse alleges that the emails showcase a disagreement among SEC officials about whether a crypto asset is a security or not, thereby suggesting that the regulator’s lawsuit against Ripple lacks legitimacy, or that Hinman intentionally overlooked the law. In his statement, the Ripple CEO asserted:
Hinman’s speech introduced new factors for determining whether a token has become decentralized enough to no longer be considered a security. At best, these documents show that senior officials at the SEC disagreed on the law and directly told Bill Hinman that it would further confuse the public about crypto rules
“He Ignores the Law!”
However, the accusations did not stop there. The executive also accused Hinman of ignoring the laws with his practices. In his comments, he stated:
At worst, they show that Hinman intentionally overlooked the law, tried to create new laws which only Congress can do, and received millions of dollars in payment from Hinman’s law firm while he was a public official. This alliance with others who have interests in his speech is, in my opinion. Moreover, this is not about any token or any blockchain, but about the SEC’s ruthlessly enforced punitive actions against crypto players, while lying about their ‘come and register’ calls.
Towards the end of 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, alleging that it sold XRP as an unregistered security. Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, recently stated that he expects the lawsuit to conclude soon.
