SEC, Ripple take XRP lawsuit battle to media as well

The ongoing battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs over the latter’s token XRP is playing out not just in a courtroom but in media channels as well.

See related article: SEC files no objection to Ripple request to seal non-party identities in XRP lawsuit

Fast facts

• Stu Alderoty, general counsel of Ripple, wrote on Sunday in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece: “What we need is regulatory clarity for crypto, not the SEC swinging its billy club to protect its turf at the expense of the more than 40 million Americans in the crypto economy.”
• Alderoty’s comments came after SEC Chairman Gary Gensler published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, saying the SEC treats crypto like the rest of the capital markets. Gensler reiterated in July that the agency’s attempt was to bring cryptocurrency exchanges under oversight and “register where appropriate as securities.”
• Also on Sunday, Forbes updated an article that appeared critical of Gensler’s stance on digital assets and Ripple Labs’ token XRP.
• The Forbes article, written by technology innovation researcher Roslyn Layton, said some 200 lawsuits against crypto assets since 2017 “suggests the SEC would prefer to litigate companies rather than make rules to guide them in compliance.”
• A previous version of the article appeared with the title “Gary Gensler: Resign,” according to snapshots captured by Internet Archive. The title now reads: “Gensler Says Crypto Treated Just Like The Market; 200 SEC Lawsuits Say Otherwise.”
• Forbes noted at the end of the piece that the title and content of the article were “updated from an earlier story which could have been misinterpreted as news, when it was meant as analysis.”
• In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple alleging that its sale of XRP — the native coin of the XRP Ledger created by Ripple Labs — was an unregistered securities offering worth over US$1.38 billion. The SEC also named Ripple’s executive chairman Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse as co-defendants for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s violations.

See related article: SEC files brief on Hinman speech as XRP lawsuit drags on