Ripple’s chief legal officer says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made moves in an effort to declare the digital asset a security.
Stuart Alderoty on the social media platform X that before commencing the lawsuit against Ripple, the regulator approached the company with a settlement that would have changed the trajectory of the digital asset industry.
“Before the SEC sued Ripple, Chris and Brad (three years ago today), they offered us the following settlement: the SEC would announce to the market that XRP is a security and the market would be given a short window to ‘come into compliance.’”
Alderoty says Ripple turned down the offer for two big reasons.
“We said no because: (1) XRP is not a security, and (2) the SEC never built a framework for crypto compliance. No matter the spin that Clayton, Hinman, Gensler or anyone else puts on this case now, it was always about one thing – proving that XRP is not, in and of itself, a security.
We put everything on the line. Few thought we would win. But we did. In the process we exposed the SEC for the hypocritical tyrant it is and the industry in the U.S. lived to fight another day. Onward to 2024.”
In July, Judge Analisa Torres that the automated, open-market sales of XRP did not constitute security offerings, contrary to the allegations of the SEC.
Alderoty also the ruling represents a big defeat for SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
“Biggest crypto story of 2023: Gary Gensler suffered his ‘worst loss’ when Judge Torres ruled that XRP is not a security…
Tokens themselves are not securities. That’s the law of the land.”
At time of writing, XRP is worth $0.616.
