US Senate to Feature #Ripple CEO in Hearing on Crypto Market Structure.


While Terrett highlighted several leading industry figures as witnesses, many view Garlinghouse’s inclusion as fully justified.

Attorney John Deaton has highlighted that Ripple and XRP exemplify the regulatory uncertainty that plagues the crypto industry. He cited a series of events illustrating how Ripple and XRP have been treated inconsistently by U.S. regulators.

According to Deaton, Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen met with the Federal Reserve, the SEC, and the U.S. Treasury as early as 2013, explaining XRP and its underlying technology, XRP Ledger (XRPL). The following year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) referred to XRP as a virtual currency.

In 2015, Ripple reached an agreement with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to comply with banking laws after being fined $700 million over a sale involving Roger Ver.

According to Deaton, the SEC and FinCEN were in an information-sharing arrangement, which gave the securities regulators exclusive access to Ripple’s information.



Three years later, on June 14, 2018, the SEC’s enforcement lawyers conducted an internal Howey assessment of XRP to determine whether it constitutes a security. However, the lawyers did not recommend an enforcement action, as mentioned by Judge Analisa Torres in the Ripple case.

In August 2018, Ripple executives, including Garlinghouse, met with the SEC to resolve the lack of clarity regarding XRP. Deaton suggested that the Ripple execs visited the SEC shortly after the agency gave Bitcoin and Ethereum a free pass via the infamous Hinman speech.

Deaton stated that during the meeting, the SEC did not inform Ripple about any securities law violations, despite having substantial knowledge of every XRP transaction.


Furthermore, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) published a report in 2019 co-signed by the SEC and CFTC chairs, which referred to XRP as a virtual currency.

#CryptoNewss