22-12-2020, 04:37 PM
Cryptocurrency firm Ripple expects to be sued by the SEC; XRP plunges
* The SEC is set to bring a lawsuit against Ripple claiming the company violated laws against selling unregistered securities when it sold XRP to investors.
* Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC’s suit was “fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact” and questioned its timing.
* XRP declined sharply following news of the expected SEC suit, with the cryptocurrency falling almost 18% to around 46 cents.
By Ryan Browne, Kate Rooney
PUBLISHED TUE, DEC 22 2020 / 3:04 AM EST
Ripple, the fintech company best known for cryptocurrency XRP, has said it expects to be sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it violated investor protection laws.
The SEC is set to bring a lawsuit against Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. It will claim that the company violated laws against selling unregistered securities when it sold XRP to investors.
Garlinghouse said he expects the lawsuit to be filed before Christmas. In a statement late Monday, he said the SEC’s suit was “fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact” and questioned its timing.
“XRP is a currency, and does not have to be registered as an investment contract,” Garlinghouse said. “In fact, the Justice Department and the Treasury’s FinCEN already determined that XRP is a virtual currency in 2015 and other G20 regulators have done the same. No other country has classified XRP as a security.”
“The SEC has permitted XRP to function as a currency for over eight years, and we question the motivation for bringing this action just days before the change in administration. Instead of providing a clear regulatory framework for crypto in the U.S., (SEC Chairman) Jay Clayton inexplicably decided to sue Ripple — leaving the actual legal work to the next Administration.”
Clayton last month said he would step down as SEC chair at the end of the year, ahead of the expiration of his term in June.
More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/cryptocu...unges.html
* The SEC is set to bring a lawsuit against Ripple claiming the company violated laws against selling unregistered securities when it sold XRP to investors.
* Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC’s suit was “fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact” and questioned its timing.
* XRP declined sharply following news of the expected SEC suit, with the cryptocurrency falling almost 18% to around 46 cents.
By Ryan Browne, Kate Rooney
PUBLISHED TUE, DEC 22 2020 / 3:04 AM EST
Ripple, the fintech company best known for cryptocurrency XRP, has said it expects to be sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it violated investor protection laws.
The SEC is set to bring a lawsuit against Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. It will claim that the company violated laws against selling unregistered securities when it sold XRP to investors.
Garlinghouse said he expects the lawsuit to be filed before Christmas. In a statement late Monday, he said the SEC’s suit was “fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact” and questioned its timing.
“XRP is a currency, and does not have to be registered as an investment contract,” Garlinghouse said. “In fact, the Justice Department and the Treasury’s FinCEN already determined that XRP is a virtual currency in 2015 and other G20 regulators have done the same. No other country has classified XRP as a security.”
“The SEC has permitted XRP to function as a currency for over eight years, and we question the motivation for bringing this action just days before the change in administration. Instead of providing a clear regulatory framework for crypto in the U.S., (SEC Chairman) Jay Clayton inexplicably decided to sue Ripple — leaving the actual legal work to the next Administration.”
Clayton last month said he would step down as SEC chair at the end of the year, ahead of the expiration of his term in June.
More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/cryptocu...unges.html
Specuvestor: Asset - Business - Structure.