Ripple has spent $200 million defending itself against a lawsuit brought against it by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Garlinghouse dropped the figure during a fireside chat at the Dubai Fintech Summit on May 8. He said that compared to the regulatory progress of the United Arab Emirates' virtual asset regulator and the recent Markets in Cryptoassets (MICA) bill, the US is in trouble in the EU. He went on to share that by the time the case was closed, Ripple would have spent $200 million defending itself, which didn't make much sense to begin with.
In a message to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, Garlinghouse lamented that the US fell sharply behind in Ripple's expansion into the United Arab Emirates. According to him, the tough part about this situation is having a country that puts politics over policy. Garlinghouse said that the first piece of advice he gives entrepreneurs when they ask him how to start something is, "If I were you, I wouldn't start in America." He believes that many American companies and American Listed companies will agree. Asked whether the US needed A clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, Garlinghouse said the SEC must understand that the vast majority of people working on cryptocurrencies and blockchain are good players who want to play by the rules , but it needs to be defined.
Cryptocurrency payment platform Ripple was sued by the SEC in December 2020, alleging that Ripple illegally sold XRP, Tokens as unregistered securities. Ripple has long disputed this statement, arguing that it does not constitute an investment contract under the Howey test.
The case has been going on for two and a half years and has adversely affected the US market. According to Garlinghouse, the judge is expected to make a decision within the next three to six months.
