Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has expressed his frustration with former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, accusing him of hypocrisy in discussions surrounding corporate litigation and the role of the agency. Garlinghouse recalls that the lawsuit Ripple faced for nearly three years was initiated by Clayton himself.
One of the main concerns that angered Garlinghouse was the timing of Clayton's departure from the SEC, which occurred just days after the Ripple lawsuit was filed. In a CNBC interview, Clayton criticized current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler for alleged abuse of power in the agency's enforcement actions against crypto firms.
Under Gensler's leadership, the SEC has taken legal action against several crypto firms. This includes suing Kraken Exchange for its staking program, resulting in a $30 million settlement. Coinbase Exchange and Binance have also faced scrutiny from the regulator for facilitating the trading of unregistered crypto securities, such as Cardano, Solana, Filecoin, and Decentraland.
The lawsuit filed against Ripple Labs by Clayton is considered one of the most high-profile legal battles in the crypto ecosystem in recent years. However, in July, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the programmatic sales of XRP do not constitute an investment contract, marking a significant win for Ripple. Additionally, the SEC dropped the aspect of the lawsuit that involved Garlinghouse and Ripple founder Chris Larsen.
Experts believe that the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit has set a positive precedent for other legal cases in the industry. While there are still institutional aspects of the case to be resolved in the coming weeks, there is hope that Coinbase and Binance can benefit from the ruling in the Ripple case.
