Brad Garlinghouse believes that the ”truth is out for everyone to read” after release of 2012 legal memos
CEO of Ripple Brad Garlinghouse believes that the ”truth is within everyone’s reach” after 2012 legal memos containing advice received by Ripple were made public.
In a series of tweets, defense lawyer James K. Filan, who broke the news, gave an overview of the two legal documents. He said that both documents were from Perkins Coie, revealing the identity of a global law firm that had been previously unknown.
The first memo was written in February 2012 and sent to Jed McCaleb and Jesse Powell, while the second was published in October 2012 and sent to Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb.
The first memo stated that if NewCoin is offered in what appears to be an ICO, it will most likely be classified as a security. Ripple altered its business plan and returned to Perkins Coie, prompting the second memo. The second memo, more positive than the previous, stated that there was a “small” risk that the SEC would disagree.
Perkins Coie, on the other hand, concluded that Ripple credits should not be classified as securities. Ripple may take steps to reduce the possibility of the SEC disagreeing with Perkins Coie, according to the document.
James K. Filan argues, ”There is certainly nothing in these memos that suggests that Ripple was being reckless or ignored any substantial risks.” Filan feels that the unsealing of the memos is, overall, favorable to Ripple and the individual defendants.
Stuart AlderotyRipple’s general counsel, gave his final say on the documents, after earlier saying that two documents from 2012 would indicate that the XRP cryptocurrency was not considered an unregistered security.
He says, ”The conclusion of these now-public 2012 memos is clear: XRP ‘do not constitute securities.’ The fact that Ripple had the foresight to seek legal advice from a prominent firm in 2012—in the absence of clear case law and five years before the SEC even started talking about digital assets—should be applauded.”
