SEC’s Crenshaw slams Ripple settlement, warns of ‘regulatory vacuum’
A crypto-skeptical commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission has blasted her agency over its settlement letter that could finally end the Ripple legal saga.
The SEC and Ripple filed a joint settlement letter in a New York court asking for the August 2024 injunction against Ripple to be dissolved and $75 million of the $125 million in civil penalties held in escrow to be returned to the crypto firm, according to a May 8 statement from the SEC.
SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw blasted the pending deal in a May 8 statement, saying it would damage the regulators’ ability to keep crypto firms in line and undermine the court’s ruling.
“This settlement, alongside the programmatic disassembly of the SEC’s crypto enforcement program, does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws,” she said.
“In the meantime, the settlement joins a line of dismissals that collectively erode the credibility of our lawyers in court who are being asked to take legal positions today contrary to the ones taken just months ago.”
Under the Trump administration, the SEC has slowly been walking back its hardline stance toward crypto firms forged under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s reign, dismissing a growing number of enforcement actions against crypto firms.
At the same time, Crenshaw argues that if Judge Torres accepts the settlement, it would erase “the investor protections we already won” and leave a “regulatory vacuum,” until the crypto task force hammers out a regulatory framework.
“The settlement is not in the best interests of the investors and markets that our agency is tasked with serving and protecting. It creates more questions than answers.”
In August last year, a Judge ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in penalties after ruling the firm’s XRP (XRP) token was covered by securities laws when sold to institutional investors.
What’s next for the Ripple case? It’s not over yet
While the SEC and Ripple have agreed to a settlement, it’s still not a done deal, according to ex-federal prosecutor James Filan, because there are several steps before the long-running legal saga can conclude.
For a start, Judge Torres needs to provide an indicative ruling if she agrees to the settlement letter, Filan said in a May 8 analysis on X.
If Torres provides an indicative ruling, the SEC and Ripple will ask the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for a limited remand back to Judge Torres, which, if granted, will result in another motion being filed for the agreed settlement, according to Filan.
Related: Bitnomial drops SEC lawsuit ahead of XRP futures launch in the US
“After the injunction is dissolved and the funds distributed, the SEC and Ripple will ask the Court of Appeals to dismiss the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal. Then it will be over,” he said.
The SEC initially launched legal action against Ripple Labs in December 2020, accusing the firm of illegally selling its token as an unregistered security.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
The Thai government is reportedly set to allow tourists to exchange crypto for Thai baht and make electronic payments through e-money service providers.
Charles O. Parks III, who admitted to misusing $3.5 million worth of resources from two cloud computing providers to mine crypto, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
If there’s one thing the past 24 hours has confirmed, it’s that it’s still Donald Trump’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
In the aftermath of the Alaska meeting, the US president’s deal-making skills came under question when he seemingly walked away empty-handed.
But it was clear he had retained his ability to catch everyone off guard, as a meeting between him and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unexpectedly became a last-minute White House peace summit.
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Ukraine faces biggest challenge yet ahead of White House talks
The invitation to European leaders drifted out, and within hours, the cast list had grown to include six more, as world leaders dropped everything to fit in with Mr Trump’s unpredictable timetable.
There were signs of disorganisation behind the scenes.
When the British Prime Minister’s spokesman was asked who the invite had come from – the White House or the Ukrainian president – they replied: “A bit of both.”
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What happened when Zelenskyy last went to White House
Read more:
The land Ukraine could be told to give up
Key takeaways from Alaska summit
Meanwhile, the meeting of the coalition of the willing – a Starmer and Macron-led group of Ukraine’s European allies – had a nervous feel to it as members resolved to stand firm with Ukraine – even if it puts them at odds with the US.
At times, it sounded like they were trying to convince themselves they could do it.
And as all of this frantic diplomatic reaction played out, the man in the middle of it all headed to the golf course – calm at the centre of the diplomatic storm he created as his allies swirl around him.
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