On May 22, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, unleashed a scathing rebuke on Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for his mishandling of crypto asset regulation.
Ripple CLO Tags Gensler as “Struggling Political Liability”
Alderoty’s fiery criticism slammed Gensler’s approach as misguided, accusing the SEC chief of abusing his authority and becoming a “political liability” in an X post.
“Gensler overplayed his hand. He thought crypto was an easy target. He relished being the guy that everyone loved to hate. He thought he was above Congressional oversight. That’s all gone. He’s now a struggling political liability,” his tweet reads.
Alderoty’s statement suggests that Gensler continued to approach crypto innovation as the problem instead of fostering a balanced regulatory environment.
Ripple CLO’s criticism came in response to a post by Chris Brummer, a professor of Financial Technology at Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial, who tweeted his thoughts regarding the SEC’s controversial nature under Gensler.
Brummer noted that a presidential candidate mentioned SEC Chairman Gary Gensler by name, which is unprecedented. Another surprising development was President Joe Biden’s threat to veto Congressional legislation regarding the SEC.
This is the first time the SEC has become a subject of presidential politics. I don’t recall ever a presidential candidate mentioning the Chair of the SEC by name. I also don’t remember a sitting President threatening preemptively to veto Congressional legislation about the SEC.
— Chris Brummer (@ChrisBrummerDr) May 22, 2024
Alderoty’s criticisms follow the swirling rumors about the SEC potentially approving a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) – a move perceived as an attempt to sway crypto voters to President Biden.
BREAKING
U.S. SEC HAVE TOLD EXCHANGES
IT IS ‘LEANING TOWARD APPROVING’
SPOT ETH ETF’S
ULTRA BULLISH
— Ash Crypto (@Ashcryptoreal) May 21, 2024
Speculation about the spot Ethereum ETF approval gained momentum despite the SEC’s previous reluctance to greenlight any new crypto-related spot ETFs. This development has heightened the competition between the Biden administration and former President Donald Trump, especially regarding their divergent approaches to crypto regulation.
Recall that Donald Trump recently disclosed that he would accept crypto donations to sponsor his return bid to the White House while planning to ” build a crypto army” to fight the “anti-crypto army.”
Ripple CLO Criticism Aligns with Top Crypto Figures
Stuart Alderoty is not the only prominent figure in the crypto space criticizing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler for inefficient regulation.
On May 20, Adam Cochran, a well-known cryptocurrency market analyst and founder of Cinneamhain Ventures, criticized Gensler over his ambiguous stance on Ethereum.
Cochran firmly believes that Ethereum is not a security, contrary to the SEC’s position that the asset falls under securities law.
Dear Gensler,
We win.
Ethereum is not a security.
You over reached, and were forced into line, you political weasel.
Yours truly,
Crypto. https://t.co/I7yVHUhKxc
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) May 20, 2024
He urged Gensler to clarify this matter in court, specifically calling on Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, to demand such an explanation.
Recall that the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in June 2023, accusing the exchange of unregistered offers and sales of securities. In an unlikely turn of events, Coinbase sued the SEC for crypto rulemaking refusal and called for clear guidelines for the crypto industry. This led to community-wide support for Coinbase as industry leaders urged the SEC to draft clear regulations.
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