In a series of posts on the X social media network, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's chief lawyer, has once again taken aim at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission following recent comments made by Gurbir Grewal, the agency's enforcement director.
Grewal has pushed back against claims that the regulator is exceeding its authorities with enforcement actions while also "picking winners and losers" within the cryptocurrency industry.
The SEC official dismissed these accusations as "verbal gymnastics," arguing that the cryptocurrency industry simply is not willing to follow the same rules that apply to everyone else. He added that these pro-crypto arguments are simply meant to shift attention away from "real issues and risks" posed by the cryptocurrency industry. "The federal securities laws apply equally to everyone. You don’t get your own rules," he added.
Arman ShirinyanIn his remarks, Grewal also pointed to a recent Pew Research survey, which says that the majority of Americans who are aware of cryptocurrencies do not view the nascent asset class as safe or reliable.
Moreover, the SEC official has accused the cryptocurrency industry of targeting racial minorities with "predatory" inclusion tactics and disproportionally harming them during severe market crashes.
Grewal believes that the public should have confidence that bad actors will be held accountable by the SEC.
Get off your soapbox
However, Alderoty insists that the SEC has inflicted significant damage to itself as well as the broader industry due to its "misguided" anti-crypto policy. In order to fix it, it has to "get off its soapbox and own up to these truths."
The top Ripple lawyer has also noted that the SEC has given up most of its claims in the case against his company. Furthermore, he has stated that the SEC has failed to come up with clear crypto rules for the crypto industry despite claiming the opposite.
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