Ripple’s Lawyer Urges US Lawmakers to Urgently Pass ‘Sensitive’ Crypto Legislation Amid SEC Legal Action Over XRP CryptoBlog

Ripple’s general counsel has urged US lawmakers to pass “reasonable crypto legislation” in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit over the sale of xrp. “Rather than providing regulatory clarity through rulemaking, the SEC is intimidating crypto markets by filing unproven claims masquerading as regulation,” he said.

Ripple Lawyer Calls For ‘Sensitive’ Crypto Regulation

Stuart Alderoty, general counsel for Ripple, highlighted the importance of sensible cryptocurrency legislation in an opinion piece published on Wednesday.

Referring to a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on investor protection where Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) pushed the SEC to sue major cryptocurrency exchanges that traded XRP, Alderoty pointed out:

Sherman’s off-base remarks underscore the urgent need for sensible cryptography legislation from Washington.

The SEC sued Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen in December 2020, alleging that the XRP sale was an unregistered securities offering. Ripple disagreed with the SEC and has since been waging a legal battle with the securities regulator. Recently, Garlinghouse discussed the possible outcomes of the lawsuit.

Alderoty quoted Rep. Sherman stating that “the fact remains” that “XRP…is clearly a security.” However, Ripple’s attorney argued that “the real fact” is:

Filing a complaint does not determine anything.

Noting that the lawmaker is a Harvard-trained attorney, Alderoty alleged, “He knows the SEC cannot determine that XRP is a security. He knows that no country in the world has determined XRP to be a security. He knows that the matter must be decided by the court. Whether XRP is a security or not has yet to be determined, Ripple’s lawyer explained, adding that “when it is done, it will be done by the court.”

Alderoty has criticized the SEC for its approach to regulating the crypto industry, particularly the securities watchdog’s handling of the lawsuit against Ripple and its executives over the sale of XRP.

He tweeted on Wednesday:

Rather than providing regulatory clarity through rulemaking, the SEC intimidates crypto markets by filing unproven claims masquerading as regulation.

Do you think the US Congress will pass reasonable crypto legislation that will help Ripple’s case? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

An economics student from Austria, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests include Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection between economics and cryptography.