Bullet Points:
• Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has stated he is optimistic about the company getting a ruling in its legal dispute with the SEC soon.
• The legal dispute between Ripple and the SEC started in 2020 when the regulator alleged Ripple and its executives sold XRP without registering it as a security.
• Ripple denied the allegation, arguing the XRP token should not be viewed as an investment contract and is used for facilitating cross-border transactions.
Ripple, the San Francisco-based fintech company, has been in a legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since 2020. The SEC alleged that Ripple and its executives had unlawfully sold XRP, a digital asset developed in 2012, to investors without registering it as a security. Ripple denied the accusation, claiming that the XRP token should not be viewed as an investment contract and is used in the company’s business of facilitating cross-border transactions between banks and other financial entities.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently spoke to CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he expressed optimism about the company getting a ruling about its legal dispute with the SEC soon. He stated that he expects the resolution to be reached in the first half of 2023, adding, “Judges take however long the judges will take.”
Both the accuser (the SEC) and the defendant (Ripple) submitted their last series of briefs in December 2022. The SEC is seeking a summary judgement in their favor, while Ripple is hoping for a dismissal of the case. The two sides have put forth a number of arguments and counterarguments regarding the classification of XRP and whether or not it should be viewed as a security.
Ripple has maintained that XRP is a digital asset that is used as an efficient and cost-effective way to facilitate cross-border payments, and that it should not be subject to securities laws. The SEC, on the other hand, has argued that Ripple should have registered XRP as a security, as it was sold as an investment and was used to generate profits for its creators.
It remains to be seen how the courts will rule on this case. However, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressing optimism that the dispute will be resolved in the first half of 2023, it seems the resolution may be just around the corner.