Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the SEC v. Ripple case “seems to be going better than expected.” He added that the US Securities and Exchange Commission “realizes that attacking crypto is politically unpopular.”
Coinbase’s CEO on the Ripple Lawsuit, SEC Attacking Crypto
The CEO of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, commented on the enforcement action against Ripple Labs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday. Referring to a Forbes article titled “The Crypto Uprising The SEC Didn’t See Coming,” he tweeted:
The Ripple case seems to be going better than expected. Meanwhile, the SEC realizes that attacking crypto is politically unpopular (because it hurts consumers).
“The irony is that the people they are supposedly protecting are the ones attacking them,” the Coinbase boss added.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse made a similar statement regarding the SEC. Noting that the regulator is refusing to provide a clear framework for crypto, he said: “Instead of working with the industry, the SEC is using their meetings with companies as lead generation for their enforcement actions.” He added that many XRP holders have filed a class action lawsuit against the SEC, stressing, “These are the exact people the SEC is supposed to protect.”
Several people on Twitter expressed surprise to see Armstrong tweeting a positive comment about Ripple. Many have taken his statement as a bullish sign that the price of XRP will rise soon.
Some people suspect that Coinbase may be relisting XRP soon. “Sounds like Brian Armstrong and Coinbase should be getting ready to relist XRP,” one person tweeted. However, some are still skeptical, claiming that Coinbase will not relist XRP until the lawsuit is completed. Coinbase delisted XRP in January, soon after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its executives, CEO Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen.
The Nasdaq-listed company itself recently ran into trouble with the securities watchdog when it tried to start a lending program. The exchange discussed the product with the SEC but was threatened with legal action if it proceeded with the launch. This caused Coinbase to shelve the product.
