Uncertain Regulatory Stance Of US Makes Ripple Consider For Relocation
Ripple is thinking about relocating to Europe or Asia in the midst of developing disappointment at the lack of regulatory clarity in the United States.
Addressing Fortune Magazine’s Jeff John Roberts at the Oct. 6 LA Blockchain Summit, Ripple prime supporter Chris Larsen said the United States was “woefully behind” in preparing for the cryptocurrency-based next generation of a global financial system. Coupled with U.S. authorities’ policy on “regulation through enforcement” and Ripple may consider leaving the country behind entirely.
“The message is blockchain and digital currencies are not welcome in the U.S.,” Larsen said. “You want to be in this business, you probably should be going somewhere else. To be honest with you, we’re even looking at relocating our headquarters to a much more friendly jurisdiction.”
Larsen expressed the firm was thinking about moving to nations like the U.K., Switzerland, Singapore, or Japan, in light of the fact that in the U.S., “all things blockchain and digital currency start and end” with regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“I don’t think that the posture at the SEC today can possibly get worse for [the crypto and blockchain] industry. It’s just ‘crush it and push it away.’”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse clarified further in a Tweet. “Responsible players like Ripple aren’t looking to avoid rules, we just want to operate in a jurisdiction where the rules are clear,” he said.
Ripple faces various legal claims charging the firm sold its XRP token in an unregistered protections offering. The SEC has not released any official explanation on the issue following its 2019 publication on a regulatory framework for digital assets.
Thus, the crypto firm keeps on being brought to court somewhat over an evident absence of administrative clearness from the administration organization. A federal judge recently denied a motion by Ripple to dismiss a lawsuit filed by investor Vladi Zakinov in 2018 alleging the XRP token is a security under California law.
