On Thursday, Ripple notched a partial victory in a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with a federal judge ruling that XRP does not constitute a security and that Ripple’s sale of XRP is not an offer of investment contracts. The court determined that the institutional sale of XRP tokens did violate federal securities laws. The decision, which follows a three-year court battle, marks a loss for SEC Chair Gary Gensler who has made enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies and platforms a priority. 

“Rather than issuing clear crypto rules, Chairman Gensler has taken crypto to court,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “It’s like if instead of setting a speed limit, Gensler ticketed every car on the road for going too fast. That has failed as a strategy, and hopefully now Congress and the SEC will enact rules of the road.”

Chamber of Progress has called on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to put forward clear cryptocurrency regulations following years of regulatory ambiguity, arbitrary enforcement, and legal threats from the SEC. Read Chamber of Progress’s op-ed on how the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement strategy has pushed crypto companies abroad, creating more risk for U.S. consumers.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.