Is XRP a Security? SEC Chief Faces Direct Question on Key Ripple Concern
During a question-and-answer session at Fintech Week 2019, an audience member asked Jay Clayton, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), if and when the Commission will rule on XRP.
Clayton, who spoke prior to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, offered a look at what the SEC would consider in an examination of the third-largest crypto by market cap.
“We don’t comment on specific enforcement matters or whether matters are under review. It would be inappropriate to do so. What I will say is on enforcement matters generally, there are a number of factors that go into the assessment of any remedial action.
One of the matters that you think about is how much of the conduct occurred inside or outside the United States, investor loss, those types of things…
In terms of any particular product – yeah, I’m just not in a position to comment, but I appreciate the sentiment underlying your question, which is understood.”
XRP’s stateside classification by the agency could have legal ramifications for Ripple as the company continues to battle a US-based lawsuit claiming it illegally sold XRP as an unregistered security.
Last month, the San Francisco-based fintech company filed a motion to dismiss the suit on technical grounds, stating that the plaintiff, Bradley Sostack, who filed his case in early 2018, waited too long.
The motion argues that the statute of repose required him to make his case within three years of the initial offering in 2013.
This summer, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority listed XRP alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum as “unregulated cryptoassets,” not securities, thus falling outside of the authority’s “regulatory perimeter.”
You can check out Clayton’s response below.
Tim Griffin a member in the audience and clearly a fan of XRP asks Jay Clayton from the SEC
Will the SEC rule on #XRP and when if they will pic.twitter.com/Zwr1wrS0Us
— 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝑿𝑹𝑷 (@BankXRP) October 24, 2019
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