Ripple CTO Says Federal Judges Now Feel the Frustration People Have With SEC

Ripple CTO David Schwartz reacts to the recent ruling in the Coinbase vs. SEC lawsuit.

Ripple CTO David Schwartz has reacted to the recent ruling in Coinbase’s lawsuit against the SEC over the exchange’s petition for basic crypto rules.

Judge Issues New Order in Coinbase vs. SEC 

Recall that Coinbase sued the SEC in April 2023 to force the regulator to respond to its July 2022 petition that the exchange filed aiming for a rule specific to digital assets.

In a tweet yesterday, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal provided an update on the lawsuit. According to Grewal, Third Circuit Judge Cheryl Ann Krause ruled that the court would retain jurisdiction of the case.

The Third Circuit just ruled that it will retain jurisdiction over our challenge to the SEC's inaction on our petition for basic rules for crypto. A further report is due in 120 days. We are grateful that the Court will continue to shine a bright light on an SEC process that… pic.twitter.com/wQu52UuCoU

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) June 20, 2023

Judge Ann ordered the SEC to update the court on their progress toward getting a staff recommendation on or before October 11, 2023.

Ripple CTO Says It’s a Victory

Reacting to the development, Schwartz stated that the decision was a rollercoaster. He expressed displeasure that the court allowed the Commission to get away with four months to provide an update about its progress toward getting a staff recommendation.

This is kind of a rollercoaster. The court insisted the SEC tell it when the commission was going to rule on Coinbase's requset, yay. But then let the SEC get away with taking four months just to update the court on just their progress towards getting a staff recommendation.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) June 20, 2023

Meanwhile, Schwartz still views the ruling as a victory for Coinbase and the crypto space, given that he did not expect anything from the exchange’s lawsuit against the SEC. According to Schwartz, he thought the Coinbase vs. SEC lawsuit was a publicity stunt.

To be fair, I think everyone was expecting Coinbase to get nothing at all out of this. Frankly, I considered it a publicity stunt at first. So in that light, this is a victory.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) June 20, 2023

Furthermore, the Ripple CTO stressed that the recent order indicates that another U.S. Federal Judge is sharing some of the frustration crypto enthusiasts have with the SEC. Schwartz noted that maybe more Federal Judges are in a similar position.

I guess the most positive spin I can put on it is that the fact that Coinbase was successful in getting any relief at all is likely an indication that at least some of our frustration with the SEC is shared by at least one more Federal judge, and maybe lots more Federal judges.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) June 21, 2023

Interestingly, pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton reacted to Schwartz’s tweet. Deaton said the cumulative effects of people’s frustration have made SEC Chair Gary Gensler become a political liability in an election season, which could potentially lead to his “ouster and less aggressive approach to the industry.”

It’s the cumulative effects that eventually cause Gensler to become a political liability – in an election year nonetheless – causing his potential ouster and a less aggressive approach to the space. https://t.co/9USCWJ8Y6c

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) June 21, 2023

Increased Frustration Over SEC’s Crackdown

The SEC’s crackdown on the crypto industry has left many frustrated, leaving investors to wonder about the future of the emerging market. Coinbase’s lawsuit against the agency reflects the frustration felt by industry leaders.

The entire industry feels the wrath of every SEC’s enforcement action, which usually causes the price of cryptos to plummet significantly.

It is worth noting that the most frustrating aspect is the continuous lack of regulation to govern the U.S. crypto sector. The industry has embarked on different initiatives to push for regulatory clarity. One of the most significant is the Stand With Crypto NFT launched by Coinbase in April.

The NFT symbolizes the industry’s desire for regulatory clarity for the crypto sector. Following SEC’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, the number of Stand With Crypto NFTs minted spiked to 152.48K. Twitter users who successfully minted the NFT were asked to display a shield emoji in their username to support the movement.