SEC lawsuit against Ripple clocks one year https://ift.tt/32o6GlR

TL;DR Breakdown

• Despite legal battle, Ripple says 2021 is still its best year.
• Garlinghouse points at ODL development in Japan, UAE among others as testimony.
• Garlinghouse continues to accuse SEC of double standard with its position on XRP and other coins.

The persisting legal battle between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and blockchain firm Ripple has clocked one year even as the case is yet to come to a conclusion. The suite was filed by the regulator on 22 December 2020.

In a Twitter thread, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse reflected upon SEC’s actions and stated that this was an attack on not just Ripple but to stifle crypto innovation. According to Garlinghouse, despite the lawsuit, 2021 turned out to be the best for the firm.

As he reflected on the lawsuit, which he has previously said is an attack on the entire crypto industry, Garlinghouse turned the spotlight on the ODL performance in the third quarter of the year. Notably, Ripple had earlier revealed seeing significant growth and traction of On-Demand Liquidity as transactions surged by a good 130 percent.

While defending his stance that 2021 has been Ripple’s best year, the CEO points at the developments of ODL corridors like Japan and UAE and its central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution powered by a private version of the public XRPL joining forces with Bhutan and Palau. He stressed that all these developments were not home-grown. The growth originated from other parts of the world.

SEC vs. Ripple persisting case

As part of Garlinghouse’s defense for XRP, which SEC claims to be a security, he accuses the regulators of double standard querying the legal status of Ethereum.

Ripple questions why XRP sales were deemed illegal when the asset is no different from industry heavyweights like Ethereum and Bitcoin. The legal tussle remains a tough one, with Garlinghouse and general counsel Stuart Alderoty ready to fight it to the last.