Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, has once again taken aim at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), drawing attention to the agency’s regulatory approach. In a recent tweet, Alderoty highlighted the SEC’s tactics, calling them “anarchic.”
According to Alderoty, Ripple exposed these tactics early in its legal battle, bringing to light major problems with the SEC’s enforcement strategy.
Ripple exposed the SEC’s illegal tactics from the beginning. As the court said in our case: ‘The SEC is taking its positions in the litigation to further its desired objective, not out of faithful allegiance to the law.’ The question is not whether the SEC under Gensler is dishonest: it is. The… https://t.co/4VToaTCeMT pic.twitter.com/Q6s3gTINwr
– Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) December 14, 2024
Ripple’s CLO noted that the court in the Ripple case noted the SEC’s tendency to adopt litigation positions that promote its desired objectives rather than faithful loyalty to the law.
Alderoty said the question is not whether the SEC under its current chairman, Gary Gensler, is acting dishonestly; But the real question is how to hold the SEC accountable for its actions.
Alderoty’s comments reflect widespread criticism of the SEC’s approach to regulation. Critics, including industry leaders and legal experts, have accused the agency of lacking clarity in its rules and taking enforcement actions without providing clear guidance.
Ripple sets a precedent in the crypto space
Ripple claimed victory in its legal battle with the SEC after the Court ruled in its favor in July 2023, stating unequivocally that XRP is not a security.
The decision dealt a major setback to the SEC’s broader enforcement campaign against crypto assets, giving Ripple and the crypto industry a significant boost in their push for regulatory clarity.
In October, the SEC announced its intention to appeal the Court’s ruling that certain prior distributions of XRP by Ripple were securities. It is important to note that the SEC is not about whether XRP, itself, is a security. That same month, Ripple filed Form C, outlining the issues it intends to raise in its cross-appeal.
Since the parties are appealing the Court’s ruling, Ripple deposited the $125 million reserved for repairs into an escrow account.
The appeal and cross-appeal briefing in the Ripple case could last until the first half of 2025, followed by an argument before the appeals court, most likely in the fall of 2025, and a final ruling by the court thereafter.
