Ripple CTO Says One Important Lesson From FTX Meltdown ‘Will Not Be Learned’

November 24, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Bank of America To Partner With Ripple for ODL Services After XRP Lawsuit Finishes: Report

November 22, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Ripple CEO Optimistic Crypto Industry Will Be Stronger After FTX Fiasco if Transparency and Trust Remain Its Focus

November 20, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Ripple to consider deals for FTX assets: Brad Garlinghouse

November 20, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Acquisition

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said the company would be interested in companies owned by FTX that serve business customers.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is reportedly interested in buying certain parts of collapsed crypto exchange FTX.

On the sidelines of Ripple’s Swell conference in London — was held on Nov. 16 and 17 — Garlinghouse told The Sunday Times that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried called him two days before the company filed for bankruptcy as he sought to round up investors to rescue the business.

Our 6th annual #RippleSwell is underway! I took the stage this morning with @cnbcKaren to discuss all things Ripple, crypto utility, macroeconomic factors affecting crypto, and much more. A thread… pic.twitter.com/EDHW3nyka8
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 16, 2022

The Ripple CEO said that during the call, the two discussed if there were FTX-owned businesses that Ripple “would want to own.”

“Part of my conversation was if he needs liquidity, maybe there’s businesses that he has bought or he has that we would want to own [...] Would we have bought some of those from him? I definitely think that was on the table,” he said.

However, Garlinghouse admits that now that FTX has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, a potential transaction for an FTX business will be “very different than it would have been one-to-one.”

“I’m not saying we won’t look at those things – I’m sure we will. But it’s a harder path to transact,” he added.

Approximately 130 companies affiliated with FTX, including FTX.US, were included in the bankruptcy filing in Delaware.

Some subsidiaries not included in the proceedings include crypto clearinghouse LedgerX, FTX Digital Markets, FTX Australia Pty, and payments processor FTX Express Pay.

Garlinghouse said he would be interested in buying the parts that served business customers.

Cointelegraph has reached out to Ripple for additional comment but has not received a response by the time of publication.

It appears that Ripple’s executives, like many in the industry, are following the latest developments of the FTX saga.

On Nov. 10, Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz directed a message on Twitter toward employees of FTX, suggesting that there would be room at Ripple for them, so long as they aren’t involved in compliance, finance or business ethics.”

Hey @FTX_Official employees not involved in compliance, finance, or business ethics:@Ripple is always hiring.
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) November 10, 2022

FTX has recently appointed restructuring administration firm Kroll as its agent to track all claims against FTX and ensure interested parties are notified of developments throughout its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

Support for Ripple Grows in SEC Lawsuit Over XRP — CEO Says ‘It’s Unprecedented’

November 6, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Blockchain Association throws support behind Ripple in SEC duel

October 31, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Association

The United States-based crypto industry advocacy group the Blockchain Association has said it will stand with Ripple Labs amid its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming the case could be very important for the future of the industry.

United States-based crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association has come out in support of Ripple Labs amid its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming the case could be very important for the future of the crypto industry.

In an Oct. 28 post, the advocacy group announced it will "stand" with the American crypto economy by filing an amicus brief, also known as "friend of the court" in the SEC enforcement action against Ripple.

Nearly two years ago, the SEC announced they were suing Ripple (XRP), former CEO Christian Larsen, and current CEO Brad Garlinghouse in Dec. 2020 for allegedly raising $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales through XRP.

"This case, which is just one in a long line of SEC efforts to regulate by enforcement, highlights the SEC's efforts to cement and legitimize its overly broad interpretation of the Howey test,” wrote the association.

The Howey Test determines what qualifies as an investment contract and is therefore what is subject to U.S. securities laws.

In their brief, the Blockchain Association outlined why in their view, the SEC and Chairman Gary Gensler's views of securities laws could have "devastating effects" on the crypto industry.

They argue blockchain technologies have many uses across the crypto industry; tokens can be used to pay for goods and services, conveyance of intellectual property rights, inventory tracking, and for a specific purpose in a given blockchain project.

"Applying the securities laws to those tokens – whether or not through the prism of the Howey test – would significantly restrict those networks from functioning."

The association also claimsSEC is disregarding clear Supreme Court and Second Circuit precedents stating transactions aboard are beyond the jurisdictional reach of the SEC.

"Though the blockchain industry is global in nature, the federal securities laws are not. The Second Circuit has repeatedly re-emphasized the Supreme Court's lesson on this subject."

"Accordingly, both for liability and (if necessary) damages purposes, this Court should be mindful of the limits of the securities laws," it added.

Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, believes this case could have wide-reaching ramifications for the future of crypto, calling the SEC's interpretations of the securities laws, “the single greatest threat to the future of this rapidly growing industry."

"By erratically applying these outdated standards to a modern and innovative technology, the SEC continues its "regulation by enforcement" pattern, punishing crypto companies with little justification or warning,” she said.

The Blockchain Association said the case gives the industry the chance to push back against what they see as the "SEC's regulation by enforcement agenda" and potentially open the door to modernized standards for the industry."

Ripple reports XRP holdings below 50% for the first time

October 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Brad Garlinghouse

The firm emphasized that its rather large XRP ownership is decreasing and that it only “operates 4 out of 130+ validator nodes on the XRPL.”

Ripple Lab’s XRP token holdings have dropped below 50% of the total circulating supply for the first time in the company’s history.

Ripple has faced criticism in the past by some that have raised questions over the firm’s significantly large ownership of XRP tokens, arguing that it gives the company centralized control over its XRP Ledger (XRPL).

In a Q3 report published on Oct. 27, Ripple once again refuted that criticism, while also pointing out that its XRP holdings continue to decline, falling below 50 billion tokens, or 50% of the total supply.

“Critics have pointed to the company’s XRP ownership as an indicator that the XRP Ledger is controlled by Ripple. This is not true,” Ripple stated, adding that:

“The XRP Ledger (XRPL) uses Federated Byzantine Consensus to validate transactions, add new features, and secure the network, which means that each validator node gets one vote regardless of how much XRP they own.”

The firm went on to state that it “currently operates 4 out of 130+ validator nodes on the XRPL.”

Below 50% - a huge milestone! For 10 years, Ripple has focused on using XRP & the XRPL within our products for its speed, security and scalability for movement of value. As more customers use XRP in their payments flows, it’s clear there is real utility here. https://t.co/jKZwye17uZ
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 27, 2022

Ripple disclosed in the report that its total net sales (sales minus purchases) of XRP for Q3 was down to $310.68 million compared to $408.9 million in Q2.

“Ripple has continued to sell XRP only in connection with ODL transactions, and ODL volumes have ramped up as Ripple’s ODL [On-Demand Liquidity] business expanded globally,” the report reads.

One of Ripple’s key business offerings is its cross-border payments service ODL, and the company outlined that it continued to expand the product in Q3 via a partnership with forex firm Travelex to facilitate transactions between Brazil and Mexico.

SEC battle update

Ripple also commented on its lengthy legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after scoring a big win relating to the elusive William Hinman documents earlier this month.

The documents in question relate to a speech from former SEC division director Hinman in which he describes the regulatory status of BTC and ETH in terms that may help Ripple’s case, and contradict the SEC’s arguments.

“Since Hinman’s market moving speech, the SEC continues to deliberately create ambiguity, instead of providing clear guidance, and uses that ambiguity to bring enforcement actions to stifle crypto innovation in the United States.”

“In terms of next steps, in November, the SEC and Ripple will file reply briefs, and, from there, await the Judge’s decision on the motions,” the report adds.

XRP is down 2.4% over the past 24 hours to sit at $0.46 at the time of writing but has gained 3.7% over the past week. Unlike a host of other major assets that hit new all-time highs last year, XRP’s peak was almost five years ago at $3.40 on Jan. 7, 2018.

Brad Garlinghouse