I am betting that Ripple will win the lawsuit against the SEC, Garlinghouse says. 

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, discussed a number of crypto-related topics with Axios Fintech Reporter Lucin Shen at Collision 2022. 

Garlinghouse spoke about an essential topic: the ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Ripple CEO said he is optimistic that the blockchain company will be victorious in the lawsuit. According to Garlinghouse, his confidence stems from the fact that the law and other facts support the company’s argument that XRP is not a security. 

“I am betting that [Ripple will win the lawsuit] just to be clear. I am betting on that not just because of the tone of the questions from the Judge. I am betting on that because I know the facts are on our side. I am betting on that because the law is on our side,” Garlinghouse was quoted as saying in the interview. 

SEC Thinks Otherwise 

However, the SEC is still pushing the case to ensure Ripple’s XRP is classed as a security, Garlinghouse said. 

“The SEC has massively overstepped, and they are trying to take jurisdiction ownership over something. I think they saw this gray area [that supports its argument that XRP is security] and decided to go in,” Garlinghouse added. 

Garlinghouse: Nothing Will Change If Ripple Loses the Case

Shen further asked Garlinghouse what would happen if Ripple did not win the lawsuit. Garlinghouse noted that the company has been operating as it has already lost the lawsuit. 

Moments after Ripple was charged, U.S.-based trading platforms halted XRP trading as they feared that the SEC might come after them for facilitating the exchange of the asset class. 

“If Ripple loses the case, does anything change? It is status quo; Ripple is still growing quickly,” he said. 

Garlinghouse said the Securities and Exchange Commission only has control in the United States, which has had a toll on XRP trading in the country. U.S.-based exchanges, including Coinbase, halted support for XRP immediately after Ripple was charged, forcing the price of the coin to plummet massively.

At the moment, the “world” is operating as if Ripple has lost the lawsuit Because SEC can only operate in US. and the world believes in Ripple, whether security or not.

“The SEC only has jurisdiction in the United States. In some ways, if you think about how the “WORLD” is operating right now, it’s as if the case has been lost.”

Things Going In Ripple’s Favor

The lawsuit, which has continued to linger for more than a year, is considered the biggest legal battle involving the SEC that has ever occurred in the cryptocurrency industry. 

New developments released on a weekly basis are going in Ripple’s favor. This month, Ripple recorded a major win after Judge Sarah Netburn ordered the SEC to surrender the draft of William Hinman’s 2018 speech. 

The blockchain company believes the draft speech would aid its Fair Notice Defense that XRP is not a security. 

However, the SEC is unwilling to surrender Hinman’s documents to Ripple as it is preparing to oppose the order issued by Magistrate Netburn. 

Wietse Wind says there is no XUMM-issued token.

Leading XRPL Labs developer Wietse Wind on Friday, in response to a query on Twitter about a XUMM token, has clarified that the XUMM wallet has no token, and the team has no plans to create one.

“XUMM has NOT made its own token, nor are there any plans to create one. There are currently two tokens issued on the XRPL with our name, XUMM and xumm, neither of which we issued,” Wind tweeted, clarifying the XRPL Labs’ stance.

XUMM has NOT made its own token, nor are there any plans to create one. There are currently two tokens issued on the XRPL with our name, XUMM and xumm, neither of which we issued.

— WietseWind – ? XUMM @ XRPL Labs (@WietseWind) July 22, 2022

Notably, it is the second time the developer has had to refute falsehoods about the XRP Ledger in as many days. Wind on Thursday, as reported by The Crypto Basic, refuted rumors that XRPL Labs was working on a credit card payment system for its XUMM wallet.

In the thread on Thursday, Wind noted that XRPL Labs is taking the more difficult route to avoid reinventing the old financial system by pushing payments using the XRP Ledger. According to Wind, the team is currently working on an on-ramp & off-ramp that would allow instant swaps from fiat to XRP on the XRP Ledger.

Wind concedes that these processes may take a considerable amount of time. However, he notes that he expects the bridge to go live later this year, first in the Netherlands.

Of course (like always) good things take time & doing it right always takes more time than you expect. But we're getting there. This year we'll go live with onramp/offramp in NL for Xumm Pro Beta users, and expand to other EU countries shortly after. And next? Asia, probably.

— WietseWind – ? XUMM @ XRPL Labs (@WietseWind) July 21, 2022

It is worth noting that the XRP Ledger has not been void of developments. For example, on July 9, The Crypto Basic reported that XRPL Labs had rolled out Hooks Builder, allowing for the deployment of Layer 1 smart contracts on the XRP Ledger. Notably, the feat took two years of steady work by the team.

It is worth noting that in June, Ripple chief Brad Garlinghouse attributed the resilience of the XRP Ledger to its long-term developmental outlook. According to Garlinghouse, Ripple remains focused on solving problems and creating utility.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested to seal certain portions of the parties’ July 12, 2022, filings in connection with the motions to exclude expert testimony. 

The SEC reiterated that its proposed redactions are part of efforts to protect the identities of its five expert witnesses. According to the SEC’s letter, one of its experts was subjected to heavy threats and harassment following the disclosure of his name by attorney John Deaton. He is requesting to represent XRP investors in the upcoming Daubert challenge. 

Based on this, the SEC is not prepared to see other experts suffer a similar fate as the first witness. 

SEC Makes Further Sealing Requests

“To protect the identities of the SEC Experts, the SEC proposes redacting the name of each expert as well as identifying information, including contact information, educational and employment history,” the SEC noted. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission believes that the general public could use some of the details to “decipher the witness’ identities,” mostly through online search engines or social media platforms. 

The SEC also seeks to seal the identities of consulting firms and their employees that aided the experts in their reports. 

“These proposed redactions are narrowly tailored to serve the interests of witness safety, and the SEC’s application should therefore be granted,” the SEC added. 

Furthermore, the SEC is proposing to redact four documents to prevent the disclosure of the financial information of Experts 1, 3, and 4. According to the agency, the proposed redactions are necessary because disclosing the financial information of the experts is not relevant to the Daubert motions, and it could jeopardize the experts’ privacy interests. 

Notably, Ripple has also redacted the names of third parties from their reports in support of the Daubert motions. 

“The SEC does not object to Defendant’s Application. If the Court orders that the names of third parties be sealed, the SEC will redact all such names in accordance with the redactions proposed by Defendants,” the Securities and Exchange Commission’s letter reads.  

In conclusion, the SEC stated that other third parties whose information was cited in the parties’ reports might request to seal that information believed to be sensitive.