The SEC has taken a bunch of enforcement actions against different cryptocurrency entities of late. However, blockchain payments company Ripple was one of the earliest victims. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, went on to state that the case is not just confined to Ripple or XRP but that it is about the whole industry. He also pointed out how “the SEC is playing offense” and “attacking” all players. He added,
“Two-and-a-half years ago, in the start, I’m not sure everyone fully digested that, and now that is widely understood.”
Well, a host of community members are on the same page as Garlinghouse. Crypto data analytics platform Messari’s founder, Ryan Selkis, recently tweeted that the current administration is “100%” anti-crypto. Selkis further opined that the regulators would “destroy” the industry.
Also Read: Crypto Is The ‘Wild West’ And Most Tokens Will Fail: Gensler
Ripple lawsuit is “pivotal” for the whole industry
In the interview, Garlinghouse said that its lawsuit is going to be pivotal for the whole industry because if the SEC is able to prevail, he said, there would be “a lot of other cases.” He specifically went on to point out the agency’s spree over the last four weeks.
By making “unregistered securities” its main hammer, the agency has targeted several firms lately. In January, the SEC charged Genesis and Gemini for the unregistered offer and sale of securities to retail investors via the Gemini Earn crypto asset lending program. After that, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken was under the radar. To settle the charges, it retrospectively agreed to discontinue its unregistered offering and sale of cryptocurrency asset staking as-a-service to users. It additionally paid $30 million to the agency.
Recently, Kraken Co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell opined that regulators have been letting the bad guys “get big and blow up.” On the contrary, he pointed out, the agency was after other respectable firms.
The Kraken executive had earlier labeled the regulatory action as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” and asserted that it was in full effect. He opined that it is no coincidence that every financial regulator in the U.S. is attacking “mundane, respectable, domestic crypto businesses.” He stated,
“There is no interest in supervising crypto.” “Everything being done is to shut it down.”
Also Read – Cryptocurrency: Regulators Let the ‘Bad Guys Get Big’ — Kraken’s Jesse Powell
The U.S is lagging when compared to other countries
Commenting on similar lines in the latest Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse said,
“The macro headline for me is that this is not a healthy way to regulate an industry. You’re [The SEC is] regulating through enforcement, as opposed to what we’re seeing seen in other countries where they’re doing the work—they are codifying, they’re creating a framework that allows an industry to grow while protecting consumers. And I think, that’s really what the U.S. is lagging in.”
The Ripple executive also pointed out that because of this behavior, the U.S. is “already behind” several countries like Australia, the UK, Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland where regulators “have taken the time and the thoughtfulness to create clear rules of the road.”
In fact, Grayscale executive Michael Sonnenshein also slammed the SEC’s “one-dimensional approach of regulation by enforcement” recently and said that it was hampering growth.
Also Read: SEC Regulations Are Hampering Bitcoin’s Growth: Grayscale CEO
Opining on what a good regulatory framework would look like, Garlinghouse said,
“If your a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And not everything here is a nail. I think any framework has to start with clear protections for consumers, but then thoughtfully understand that these aren’t always going to be securities.”