Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse strongly criticized United States Securities and Exchange (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler for his latest jab at the sector’s compliance. Garlinghouse criticized what he deems “stunning hypocrisy” in the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation.
Garlinghouse Slams Gensler
In a Thursday post on X, SEC chair Gary Gensler stated that the crypto market is rife with fraud and non-compliance. Gensler claimed that this “undermines confidence” in the field and hurts many investors. The Wall Street regulator suggested that victims of the string of crypto bankruptcies of the past 18 months or so can only “stand in line” at the courts.
Gensler has maintained his view that the existing rules and regulations are sufficient for the crypto sector, which has become a hotbed for fraud — a stance reflected recently in the SEC’s rejection of Coinbase’s rulemaking petition. The leading American exchange, however, took the matter back to court on the same day.
Ripple chief Bradley Garlinghouse was quick to clap back at Gensler’s sentiments, publicly labeling the SEC chair a hypocrite. Garlinghouse cited Gensler’s associations with what he termed “the biggest fraud in recent memory.”
“Gensler is a political liability whose actions have decimated consumers and destroyed the integrity of the SEC while remaining buddy-buddy with Wall Street,” Garlinghouse continued.
Crypto Community Reaction
Voicing solidarity with Ripple CEO’s comments, the wider cryptosphere has regarded Gensler as a key adversary of the fast-growing sector and pioneering companies like Ripple.
Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus also responded to Gensler’s X post, noting that the SEC boss has not crafted a comprehensive rulebook for cryptocurrencies, before proceeding to call him “useless in every single way”.
Gary Gensler’s remarks come amid SEC’s ongoing legal imbroglio with Ripple. Judge Analisa Torres partially ruled in favor of Ripple in July, declaring that retail sales of the XRP token did not satisfy the legal definition of a security.
The two parties are scheduled to complete the remedies-related discovery phase by April 12, 2024. The finalization of this stage is expected to bring more clarity to the XRP lawsuit and perhaps a final settlement of the protracted courtroom drama.
