Ripple eyes Gary Gensler’s confirmation as new SEC Chair

Gary Gensler, a former investment banker who leads the Biden–Harris transition’s Federal Reserve, Banking and Securities Regulators agency review team, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The new SEC Chair was once the 11th chairman of the CFTC, having been nominated by Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2009. Then, he pledged to work to “urgently close the gaps in our laws to bring much-needed transparency and regulation to the over-the-counter derivatives market to lower risks, strengthen market integrity and protect investors.”

Described as “one of the leading reformers after the financial crisis”, Gary Gensler will now lead the SEC in a time of crisis. The financial watchdog has been under fire for not providing clarity regarding its authority over the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with the most recent scandal being the SEC v Ripple lawsuit.

Not only the regulator is being attacked for having filed the complaint the day before Chairman Jay Clayton left his position, but for accusing Ripple’s co-founders of bad faith while also being unclear about the security status of XRP, in what Brad Garlinghouse called “ironic”.

Mr. Garlinghouse has stated that he’s hopeful that the case against them could be reviewed once Gary Gensler steps in to take charge of the SEC.

“I’m hopeful with Gary Gensler and the new chair likely to be confirmed in a couple of weeks. There’s an opportunity to have a conversation with that new leadership as he brings his team in”. Gary Gensler is said to be more open-minded towards cryptocurrency and he did make positive comments about Bitcoin in the past.

The SEC staff, led by Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee, welcomed the news: “A warm congratulations to Gary Gensler on his Senate confirmation to become Chair of the SEC. He will be joining a dedicated staff that works tirelessly day in and day out on behalf of investors and our markets. We welcome him back to public service and look forward to working together to execute our vital mission.”

Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, Ripple’s co-founders, have filed twin motions to dismiss the case against them.

The motion to dismiss the complaint against the co-founders of Ripple Labs follows a string of wins for the defendants, the most recent being Judge Sarah Netburn granting the defendants’ motion to reject the SEC’s access to eight years of co-founders Garlinghouse and Larsen’s personal information.

A significant win for the cryptocurrency firm was determined in April 6. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn ruled in favor of granting Ripple Labs access to the SEC internal discussions over cryptocurrencies.

In March, Judge Torres dropped a ‘bombshell: “My understanding about XRP is that not only does it have a currency value but it has a Utility and that utility distinguishes it from Bitcoin and Ether.” The statement admits to XRP’s utility and currency value.