Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Reveals Legal Cost of Fighting SEC at Dubai Fintech Summit
Garlinghouse expects the Judge to issue a summary ruling on the SEC vs Ripple case before the end of this year.
The SEC vs Ripple Labs lawsuit is slated to be one of the largest legal fights for blockchain and cryptocurrency development in the United States for the next decades. Already, hundreds of projects on Ethereum using the ERC-20 standard, and other Layer One blockchains that undertook initial coin offerings (ICO) in the United States are eagerly waiting for the final ruling by Manhattan District Judge Analisa Torres.
From the regulatory perspective, the US SEC has nothing to lose if the Judge sides with the blockchain payment company. Moreover, the SEC as a Federal agency depends on the United States taxpayers to file the motions in court.
On the other hand, Ripple will be counting losses if the Judge sides with the SEC in the ongoing lawsuit. If the Judge argues Ripple sold XRP as unregistered securities, a fine is expected to be announced by the SEC. From another perspective, if the Judge deems XRP as unregistered securities in its entirety, Garlinghouse has threatened to leave the United States market, although the company will have a chance to appeal.
Ripple Spends Millions in Fighting the SEC
From the beginning, Ripple knew it had to choose the best legal team to represent the firm against the SEC. The best legal team meant higher pay per hour. In this regard, Garlinghouse revealed that Ripple has spent about $200 million in legal fees while fighting the SEC. Previously, Ripple had announced that the company had spent close to $100 million in paying legal expenses. Notably, the company’s legal team is led by Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer.
Globalization
However, as the company noted the United States is lagging in formulating clear crypto regulations, Alderoty has been moving around the world selling Ripple products globally. For instance, as SEC chair Gary Gensler requested more than $2.4 billion earlier last month, Alderoty noted that he spent his time with United Kingdom’s officials expanding its core business of cross-border payments.
Missed all the excitement yesterday on the Gensler hearing. I am in London, spending time with our team focused on growing our business. Can’t tell you how inept the SEC looks from this side of the pond.
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) April 19, 2023
Ripple has also taken huge advantage of the pro-crypto regulations in Europe including the recently passed bill, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MICA). Moreover, other crypto firms from the United States including Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) have begun diversifying into international markets for their future growth prospects.
Price Action
XRP price has significantly been suppressed by the ongoing SEC vs Ripple case. Furthermore, several centralized exchanges including Coinbase Global delisted the asset after the SEC filed the lawsuit two years ago. Nevertheless, the XRP global community has continued supporting the Ripple course as more institutions adopt the On Demand Liquidity and RippleNet products.
Trading around $0.435, XRP price is up approximately 28 percent YTD.
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