Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has once again criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s stance on cryptocurrencies.
During a fireside chat at the XRP Las Vegas 2024 event, Garlinghouse argued that neither XRP nor Ethereum (ETH), the digital assets primarily distributed by Ripple, should be regulated as securities.
Related article: Forbes: Ripple CEO's confidence helps XRP outperform Bitcoin (BTC)
SEC scrutiny and Ripple’s legal status
The Ripple CEO's comments come as Ripple continues its legal battle with the SEC. The agency filed a lawsuit claiming that XRP constitutes security, but Ripple has consistently denied this claim. Although a federal judge ruled that digital assets are not securities, the court found that Ripple violated the law in offering and selling XRP to institutional customers.
Garlinghouse extended his comments to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, calling the commission's handling of cryptocurrency regulation “unethical.”
Regulation status of Ethereum
The SEC is also scrutinizing Ethereum and is actively investigating whether certain ETH transactions qualify as investment contracts, potentially subjecting the virtual currency to securities regulation. However, unlike XRP, Ethereum has never been explicitly labeled as a security by the SEC.
ConsenSys, a software company founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Rubin, has sued the SEC, preempting the SEC's authority to regulate Ethereum. ConsenSys claims that ETH lacks security features and cites previous statements by former SEC Commissioner William Hinman in support of this position.
Market performance amid uncertainty
Ripple’s XRP token has been under heavy selling pressure and has fallen more than 10% since the beginning of the year. According to data from CoinMarketCap, XRP is currently trading at an average price of $0.535. Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, has seen impressive growth this year, increasing in value by over 39%.
This surge is likely fueled by the SEC's approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF, creating widespread optimism in the crypto market. According to Coinmatetcap data, the current price of ETH is $3,139.
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Related Article: Top Crypto Supporters Back $1,000 XRP Price Target with Key Bullish Factors
Ripple CEO’s Ethereum Support
This is not the first time Garlinghouse has supported Ethereum. Following the positive court outcome against Riprun in March, he expressed confidence that the SEC would ultimately fail to classify ETH as a security.
The battle over crypto regulation is far from over, and the lawsuit against Ripple and the SEC continues to garner attention. The regulatory outcome for XRP, Ethereum, and the crypto industry as a whole remains uncertain.
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