In 2020, the U.S. SEC accused Ripple and its co-founders of breaching securities legal guidelines by promoting its native cryptocurrency XRP with out first registering it with the SEC.
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U.S.-based cryptocurrency firm Ripple says it’s planning to fight the ongoing lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “all the way by way of.”
“We are planning to proceed to fight the case all the way by way of,” Monica Long, Ripple’s president, advised CNBC on Monday.
The lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC has stretched for almost three years.
In 2020, the SEC accused Ripple and its co-founders of breaching securities legal guidelines by promoting $1.3 billion of its native cryptocurrency XRP with out first registering it as a safety.
Ripple disputed the claims, insisting XRP can’t be thought of a safety and is extra akin to a commodity. In July, a landmark ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres decided the token was not essentially a safety.
“We additionally received readability in that lawsuit. And the decide’s order in that case mentioned very clearly XRP in and of itself just isn’t a safety, which form of opens the doorways to us to actually increase our enterprise — not simply in the U.S. however much more globally,” mentioned Long.
Ripple’s authorized workforce said in a filing the SEC’s request for an attraction largely stemmed from “dissatisfaction” with the decide’s ruling that the XRP token didn’t qualify as a safety for gross sales to retail buyers.
Ripple’s president advised CNBC the firm is in search of to “function above board” and adjust to regulators. In June, Ripple received in-principle approval to supply regulated crypto providers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
“We’ve at all times been very engaged with regulators, policymakers, and it’s simply part of our DNA. When we construct [a] product, compliance is in the room. They have a seat at the desk,” mentioned Long.
On Friday, Ripple mentioned it will acquire crypto infrastructure startup Fortress Trust for an undisclosed sum. This follows its acquisition of Swiss crypto custody services firm Metaco in May.
“So the level on belief, we completely respect that to be a participant in finance, and we’re now a regulated monetary providers supplier with these licenses,” mentioned Long. “You received to at all times function above board.”