Not long ago, it was announced that crypto firm Ripple (XRP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were duking it out in court.
Ripple is in the Fight of Its Life
The agency alleged that the company had violated securities laws by issuing XRP without going through the proper licensing and registration requirements. In contrast to other companies’ strategies, Ripple chose to fight back and agreed to go to court with the SEC, and at the time of writing, it appears Ripple may be in a winning position.
While it’s unclear if Ripple will come out at the end of the tunnel unscathed, the company is setting a solid example for how you handle a bully. There’s also good news in that the price of XRP is shooting through the roof as people anticipate what will happen following the case.
The SEC has acted like a schoolyard bully. The agency goes around picking on and beating up all the little crypto companies out there that are allegedly weaker than it, and the SEC clearly gets off on this type of behavior. It also hasn’t limited itself to only unknown firms and has chosen to go after big names whenever the opportunity to do so arrives.
For example, the SEC has chosen to attack firms like Kraken and Coinbase, two of the largest (and oldest) digital currency exchanges out there. With the former, the company was forced to cease all its staking activities and services and part with a $30 million penalty fee.
With Coinbase, the company is not necessarily facing charges yet. However, it received a Wells notice a few months back letting executives know it would likely be facing charges soon, and that it should prepare. Those at the top took issue with the letter in that they allegedly made sure to meet with SEC reps many times over the past nine years to keep the company fully in compliance.
A schoolyard bully can only remain strong granted those around him give in to his antics. This verifies his strength in everyone’s eyes and allows him to keep acting like a jerk to everyone around him. However, the moment somebody stands up to him – as Ripple is doing now – the tides can turn.
So Many Companies Caved
Prior to this moment, many companies chose to settle with the SEC. This ultimately gave the agency the power it has now, and it made it feel invincible. It’s clearly gone around hurting every crypto company it can since then thanks to its false sense of pride and strength, but Ripple is putting a dent in that narrative and offering the company some resistance.
Perhaps this is what needs to be done to give the SEC the idea that it should tone its aggression down.