- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, labeling him a “political liability” during a World Economic Forum chat in Davos
- Garlinghouse accused Gensler of neglecting US citizens’ interests and impeding economic growth with crypto industry regulations
- The critique follows the SEC’s defeats to Ripple and Grayscale and the recent approval of a Bitcoin ETF
In a fiery critique, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has taken aim at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, branding him a “political liability” during a fireside chat at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Talking to CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal, Garlinghouse accused Gensler of neglecting the interests of US citizens and hindering the long-term growth of the economy with his regulatory approach to the crypto industry. Garlinghouse’s comments come in the wake of the SEC’s bruising defeat to Ripple over the issue of XRP being a security, its loss to Grayscale and, more recently, being forced to approve a Bitcoin ETF.
Gensler Has “Continued to Lose in Court”
In the onstage discussion, Garlinghouse expressed dissatisfaction with Gensler’s record, telling Kharpal that the SEC chief’s actions seemed counterproductive, remarking, “I think at some point there will be a new chair of the SEC, and I think that will be a good thing for the American people.”
Describing Gensler’s approach as akin to the definition of insanity, Garlinghouse criticized the repeated legal battles against the crypto space and highlighted the SEC chief’s continuous losses in court:
One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. I think Gary Gensler is doing the same thing over and over again, and he thinks that somehow he’s going to win in court. He has continued to lose in court.
Garlinghouse Has Facts on His Side
Garlinghouse’s comments cannot be denied; Gensler’s SEC has lost against Ripple over the classification of XRP as a security and Grayscale over its opposition to its Bitcoin ETF rejection, leading to the agency being forced to climb down from its position of perpetual rejection of an ETF.
The SEC is currently facing legal challenges over its position of cryptocurrencies being securities from Coinbase and Binance, both of which saw action this week: Coinbase and the SEC took part in a five-hour hearing related to Coinbase’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit against it by the SEC based on this premise, while the judge in the SEC’s case against Binance this week ordered a review on the SEC’s classification.
