Stefan Thomas, the former Chief Technology Officer of Ripple, suggests that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) targeted Ripple with charges primarily because of actions taken by other cryptocurrency projects during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom in 2017.
As the lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC draws near its conclusion, prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry are sharing their perspectives on how the outcome of the case will affect the overall landscape.
Ripple Case Outcome Will Determine How SEC Treats Crypto
Stefan Thomas, who’s also the co-creator of Interledger Protocol, recently shared his thoughts on the matter in an interview with Thinking Crypto. He emphasized that the conclusion of the Ripple-SEC lawsuit will have significant implications for how the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.
Related Reading: Ripple Explains Benefits of Adopting XRP and Crypto to the UK Government
Thomas observed that it is not surprising to witness an increasing number of industry participants supporting Ripple, as they now recognize that the lawsuit’s outcome has far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. He further expressed that this realization was evident to him right from the start.
2017 ICO Wave Attracted SEC to Crypto
Additionally, Stefan Thomas highlighted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) only began taking an interest in the cryptocurrency industry following the surge of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in 2017. He argued that the question of whether XRP is considered a security would not have emerged before 2016.
Thomas conducted an experiment using Google to investigate if the security status of XRP was a topic of discussion prior to 2017. He searched for the query “Is XRP a security?” on Google to find any relevant content predating 2016. However, he found only “two hits,” and upon closer examination, discovered that the articles were incorrectly dated from 2018. Thomas, who served as the CTO of Ripple, stated that nobody had raised the question of XRP’s security status on any online forum before 2016.
The year 2017 is widely recognized by industry leaders as the period of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) explosion, characterized by a significant number of cryptocurrency-focused projects launching their token sales. Prominent ICOs during that time included Polkadot, Tezos, EOS, and Filecoin, among others. These high-profile ICOs garnered considerable attention from regulators worldwide, contributing to increased scrutiny and regulatory interest in the crypto industry.
Why SEC Came After Ripple: Thomas Shares His Opinion
Thomas made an intriguing observation, suggesting that the SEC’s pursuit of XRP was not primarily a result of Ripple’s actions or the XRP community’s activities. Instead, he posited that the SEC’s interest in XRP was instigated by the actions of other crypto projects during the ICO frenzy of 2017. Thomas found this aspect fascinating, highlighting that it was the
Related also: SEC vs Ripple: What Happens to XRP Holders if Ripple Loses? Deaton Shares Insights
He noted that The idea of the SEC going after Ripple because of the actions and inactions of other crypto projects “leaves a bad taste in the mouth.”
Ex-Ripple CTO Hopes Ripple Win
Thomas criticized the SEC’s decision to target Ripple, but he clarified that he does not harbor any ill feelings towards the regulatory commission. He expressed his hope that Ripple emerges victorious in the lawsuit once Judge Analisa Torres delivers her judgment.
The SEC v. Ripple lawsuit is anticipated to conclude before the end of the year, and various legal experts, including John Deaton, have been offering their predictions on different aspects of the ruling.
According to Deaton, it is expected that Judge Torres will provide commentary on the sales of XRP in the secondary market within her forthcoming ruling. He also speculated that the SEC would not succeed in its case against Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.
Deaton further suggested that the recently disclosed documents related to former SEC official William Hinman would have an impact on the case involving Ripple executives.
