Ripple’s chief legal officer has urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to own up to its multiple missteps in enforcement actions against the crypto industry. He referenced court rulings that criticized the SEC for “gross abuse of power,” lack of “faithful allegiance to the law,” and being “arbitrary and capricious.”
Ripple’s Legal Chief Calls on SEC to ‘Get off Its Soap Box and Own up to These Truths’
Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, responded to remarks made by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal at the SEC Speaks 2024 conference on Wednesday about crypto regulation.
Noting that there are “those that question the integrity with which we approach our work,” Grewal claimed: “In the decade since we brought our first crypto enforcement actions, our approach has been consistent, principled, and tethered to the federal securities laws and legal precedent.” However, Alderoty disagreed, arguing on X:
Director Grewal says the crypto enforcement unit acts with integrity, but ignores the Debtbox sanctions for ‘gross abuse of power,’ the Ripple Judge’s admonishment for lack of ‘faithful allegiance to the law,’ and the ‘arbitrary and capricious’ finding in the Grayscale case.
“On the substance, he cites one portion of the Ripple ruling but ignores that the SEC lost or gave up on most of its claims in the case, including the court’s rejection of the SEC’s assertion that XRP was in and of itself a security,” the Ripple legal chief stressed.
Alderoty further noted that Director Grewal stated that “the SEC has given clear crypto guidance, but that ‘guidance’ which is still on its website today, adds and subtracts factors to the Howey test at whim, leading to what the agency’s former General Counsel said was ‘greater confusion.’” The Ripple chief legal officer opined:
If this agency wants to honestly repair the institutional damage inflicted (both to itself and the industry) over the last many years in this misguided war on crypto, it needs to get off its soap box and own up to these truths.
Do you agree with Ripple’s chief legal officer about the SEC? Let us know in the comments section below.
Source: Bitcoin
