- Ripple calls on the SEC to stop regulating crypto through enforcement.
- The firm says most digital assets fall outside the SEC’s legal authority.
- Last week the SEC dropped its long-standing case against Ripple.
Ripple has slammed the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s handling of crypto regulation, just days after announcing the SEC will drop its long-running lawsuit against the XRP developer.
In a letter addressed to Commissioner Hester Peirce and the SEC’s newly formed Crypto Task Force, Ripple said the agency has “historically created nothing but confusion — issuing guidance that is long, rambling, difficult to decipher, and based on novel standards found nowhere in the law.”
Ripple’s letter calls on the SEC to abandon its past enforcement-heavy tactics and instead offer clear, principle-based guidance.
It also praised recent agency statements clarifying that memecoins and certain mining activities fall outside securities laws — and urged the Task Force to use these as models going forward.
The letter argues that token sales without contractual obligations, staking rewards generated by permissionless protocols, and decentralised network activity should not fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction.
Ripple also reaffirmed its support for Commissioner Peirce’s Safe Harbor proposal, particularly for initial coin offerings. This proposal, introduced by Peirce, would give crypto projects a grace period to develop and decentralise before being subject to securities laws.
The March 21 submission coincided with the Task Force’s first public roundtable and capped a big week for Ripple.
Ripple victory
On Wednesday, CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed that the SEC decided to drop its appeal, calling it “the moment we’ve been waiting for.”
“This is it — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Garlinghouse said in a video posted to X.
Ripple’s legal chief Stuart Alderoty said the decision “set a precedent for the domestic crypto industry.”
The end of Ripple’s legal battle comes amid a broader policy shift under President Trump, who has pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet.”
Since his inauguration, the SEC has dropped or paused similar lawsuits against Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood.
Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@dlnews.com.
