Ripple gets in-principle nod for digital asset services in Singapore

June 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

APAC

Ripple says the “in principle” approval will help scale its “On-Demand Liquidity,” the service it uses to source XRP liquidity to customers.

Blockchain-based payments firm Ripple has obtained in-principle regulatory approval from Singapore’s financial regulator to offer digital asset payments and token products in the city-state.

Ripple confirmed the approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a June 22 statement. The approval will allow its subsidiary, Ripple Markets Asia Pacific, to further scale its On-Demand Liquidity. The ODL helps Ripple’s customers to move XRP around the world without the banks intervening as intermediaries.

We’re honored to obtain In-Principle Approval of a Major Payments Institution License from the @MAS_sg – allowing us to offer regulated digital asset products and services, and scale customer use of #ODL.

Learn more: https://t.co/8Ylc3lZSeg
— Ripple (@Ripple) June 22, 2023

The firm applied for the institutional payment license under Singapore’s Payment Service Act.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised the Singaporean regulator for its “pragmatic, innovation-first approach” to cryptocurrency-related services, adding that the country will provide a “prominent gateway” for Ripple’s business operations in the Asia Pacific region.

Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stu Alderoty, also noted that Singapore’s “early leadership” is paving the way for other regulators looking to develop a “clear taxonomy and licensing framework.”

1/ @MAS_sg has built a workable framework that truly unites consumer protection, market integrity and innovation. They’ve also outlined a clear taxonomy to classify and regulate digital assets – making it possible for companies like Ripple to build and offer compliant products. https://t.co/KLYzWRrST0
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) June 22, 2023

Alderoty explained that the approval expands upon Ripple’s customer reach.

“This in-principle regulatory approval from the MAS will enable us to better support our forward-thinking customers looking to hone in on blockchain and crypto technologies to build a more inclusive and borderless financial system.”

In 2022, Ripple managed to double the number of employees in its Asia Pacific headquarters as its Singapore base experienced a majority share of ODL transactions flowing through the city-state.

The MAS released its own Purpose Bound Money white paper on June 21, which proposes standards for fintech firms providing digital money services in Singapore:

.@MAS_sg published a whitepaper proposing a common protocol to specify conditions for the use of digital money such as CBDCs, tokenised bank deposits, and stablecoins on a distributed ledger.

READ: https://t.co/ZzY0OjOG1n
— MAS (@MAS_sg) June 21, 2023

While Ripple’s path to compliance with Singapore came without much in the way of legal barriers, this hasn’t been the case elsewhere.

Ripple’s legal team has had their hands tied with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission since December 2020 after the regulator sued them for allegedly offering XRP — the token that powers XRP Ledger — as an unregistered security.

A ruling is set to be made on the high-profile case in the coming months, according to Garlinghouse.

On June 15, Ripple partnered with Colombia’s central bank, Banco de la República, to pilot a central bank digital currency on its XRP Ledger.

The firm has also partnered with central banks in Montenegro and Thailand, in addition to many other regional banks and financial institutions around the world.

Magazine: Crypto regulation — Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

Ripple’s Counsel Urges US Lawmakers to Urgently Pass ‘Sensible’ Crypto Legislation Amid SEC Lawsuit Over XRP

July 30, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Ripple counsel slams SEC for trying to bulldoze and bankrupt crypto

June 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

“Like a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security,” claims Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty.

Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty has slammed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for trying to “bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt” crypto innovation in the U.S. in the name of expanding its own regulatory territory.

“By bringing enforcement actions–or threats of potential enforcement–the SEC intends to bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt crypto innovation in the U.S., all in the name of impermissibly expanding its own jurisdictional limits.”

Alderoty shared his views on June 13 amidst an ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the regulator, which he says is part of the “SEC’s assault on all crypto in the U.S.” by treating every cryptocurrency as a security.

“Like a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security.”

Ripple Labs has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020, when the securities regulator filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple executives had used Ripple (XRP) tokens to raise funds for the company starting in 2013, claiming it was an unregistered security at the time.

Ripple fought back, claiming that a 2018 speech delivered by Robert Hinman, then-Director of Corporation Finance for the SEC, had categorized Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) and by-association, XRP, as a non-security due to being “sufficiently decentralized”.

Ripple argued that the speech was in contradiction with the SEC’s claims against Ripple and the XRP token, but the SEC countered the argument by claiming that the speech was the director’s own personal views and not the official view of the regulator. This nuance has been one of the most pivotal aspects of the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit.

4 years since the (in)famous Hinman speech, and we’re nowhere closer on knowing how to classify digital assets in the US – keeping every crypto, including ETH, in regulatory limbo. I penned some thoughts for @Fortune why enough is enough, @SECGov. https://t.co/FB16cceaia
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) June 13, 2022

“Despite disclaimers that the speech was Hinman's personal opinion and “not necessarily that of the Commission,” the market took Hinman's speech to heart,” wrote Alderoty.

“For Ripple, Hinman’s speech affirmed the conclusion that XRP – a cryptocurrency that exists on an open, permissionless, decentralized blockchain ledger – was a commodity and/or a virtual currency. Certainly not a security,” he added.

Alderoty said the speech epitomized SEC’s deliberate muddying of the regulatory waters for crypto.

“Here in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deliberately muddied the regulatory waters for crypto […] To unlock crypto's true potential, we need to finally clean up this regulatory sludge.”

During a Washington Post event on June 8, United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand agreed that most cryptocurrencies would likely be classed as securities under the Howey Test, with the obvious exception of Bitcoin and Ether.

Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) took a slightly different view, saying that while there are “probably hundreds” of coins that replicate security coins, there are also many commodity coins, such as BTC and ETH that would be regulated by his commission.

The court battle between Ripple and SEC is expected to set a precedent for the treatment of cryptocurrencies, particularly altcoins under U.S. securities and commodities laws.

Stu Alderoty