Ripple CEO Hopes for New SEC Chair as XRP Price Falls 3%

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Confident in SEC case as XRP Slumps

Ripple, the company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, is facing a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that accuses it of selling unregistered securities. The legal battle has been ongoing since December 2020 and has negatively affected the XRP price, which has fallen by 3% in the last 24 hours.

However, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is optimistic that the new SEC chair, Gary Gensler, will bring a more favorable approach to the crypto industry and resolve the case with Ripple. In a recent interview with CNBC, Garlinghouse said that he hopes to have a constructive dialogue with Gensler and his team and that he expects the case to be settled by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Garlinghouse also defended Ripple's position, saying that XRP is not a security, but a digital asset that is used for cross-border payments and remittances. He argued that XRP is more efficient, faster, and cheaper than traditional payment systems and that it has a clear use case and utility.

He also pointed out that the SEC's lawsuit is inconsistent with the views of other regulators around the world, such as the UK, Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland, which have classified XRP as a currency or a commodity, not a security. He said that the US is the only country that has taken a different stance on XRP and that this creates uncertainty and confusion for the crypto market.

Garlinghouse also commented on the recent approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, saying that it is a positive development for the crypto industry and a validation of its potential. He said that he expects more crypto ETFs to be launched in the future and that he hopes that the SEC will also provide more clarity and guidance for other crypto assets, such as XRP.

Meanwhile, the XRP price has been struggling to recover from the impact of the SEC's lawsuit, which has caused many exchanges and platforms to delist or suspend XRP trading. According to CoinMarketCap, XRP is currently trading at $0.40, down by 3% in the last 24 hours and by 15% in the last week. XRP's market capitalization is US$18.4 billion, making it the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

However, some analysts and investors are still bullish on XRP, believing that it has the potential to bounce back once the legal issues are resolved. Some also speculate that Ripple may go public after the lawsuit is settled, which could boost the XRP price and adoption.