Garlinghouse criticized that there is not as much clarity about cryptocurrency regulations in the United States as in Asia. The CEO finds the position of US authorities on Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency frustrating.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently criticized US regulators’ position on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He stated that the authorities of some Asian countries are clearer about the rules of the game for these types of assets.
Garlinghouse told CNBC about the Singapore and South Korea cases. He noted that their governments have thoughtfully worked to define and have clear regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies.
The executive believes that the fact that the United States does not have the same degree of legal clarity is something ironic.
Ripple Is in a Court Debate Over a Lawsuit from the SEC
“The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that XRP is a security. For that reason, we are now in a court debate,” Garlinghouse said, referring to the legal battle with US authorities.
The SEC sued Ripple in December for raising capital from investors through what it considers an offering of unregistered securities. The government agency alleged that the company in question sold 14.6 billion units of XRP for USD 1.3 billion.
In January, Garlinghouse claimed that eight different government agencies participated in the investigation against Ripple. He argued that each of them has different and even opposing views on the cryptocurrency. He believes that US market participants are facing contradictory policies, and some of them are rather conservative.
Although the executive says that he feels good about the progress of the trial, he considers it to be “frustrating.”
The SEC Filed a Request for Ripple to Disclose Its Financial Data
Thanks to the intervention of Judge Sarah Netburn on April 13th, there have not only been negative results for Ripple in court. The official rejected the request that the SEC had filed to force the founders of Ripple Labs to disclose their financial data for the last 8 years.
According to the SEC, the money resulting from the sale of XRP after its investment round would be reflected in the bank deposits of Garlinghouse, Larsen, and their family members. However, Netburn dismissed this argument, noting that a bank deposit would not show the origin of the deposit.
Garlinghouse also said that the cryptocurrency industry should pay more attention to the technologies that they provide to their customers than to scrutiny. He said that he believes the industry should focus on profit and seek more efficient ways to make payments.
Ripple Could Be Publicly Listed on the Stock Exchange Upon Overcoming the Lawsuit
In recent days, Ripple Labs board member Yoshitaka Kitao spoke about the future of the company. He predicted that it could go public on the stock exchange after overcoming the SEC’s lawsuit.
Kitao, who is also the CEO of SBI Holdings, believes that Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen are interested in taking that step. In January 2020, Garlinghouse suggested that Ripple could go public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
By Willmen Blanco
