Garlinghouse’s sentiment is shared by Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings Inc. He also said that “after the current lawsuit, Ripple will go public.”
Despite the ongoing lawsuit filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple Labs Inc, the company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse remains optimistic about Ripple going for an IPO at some point in the future, once the proceedings conclude.
Ripple Labs IPO
At the Consensus 2021 conference organized by CoinDesk, Garlinghouse said that the “likelihood that Ripple is a public company is very high at some point.” At the same time, the CEO pumped the brakes on jumping the gun, stating that first, the ongoing legal exigencies with the SEC would be required to culminate, before it could initiate the process of an initial public offering (IPO). Additionally, Garlinghouse would be only too aware of the regulatory body which would grant Ripple a license to trade is the SEC through its S-1 registration.
Garlinghouse’s sentiment is shared by Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings Inc. (TYO: 8473), a large financial conglomerate based out of Tokyo, Japan. Kitao released a statement opining that “after the current lawsuit, Ripple will go public.”
Why the Lawsuit was Filed
In the meantime, the SEC lawsuit filed at the end of 2020 against Ripple Labs, Inc. and its two senior executives– CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder & former CEO Christian Larsen wages on.
The lawsuit was filed on grounds that Ripple Labs, Inc. raised more than $1.3 billion in unregistered digital securities offerings. The SEC claims that such funding was carried out through trading of XRP – the cryptocurrency actively used by Ripple, terming the same to be in the nature of unregistered securities offerings to customers worldwide, including within the United States of America. Another ground in the suit is that Ripple Lab, Inc. exchanged XRP for non-cash considerations, including labor and market-making services. It is interesting to note that Ripple Labs, Inc.’s public listing will likely not have too much of an impact on XRP’s price.
Garlinghouse refuted such claims, claiming the United States is the first and last country that lists XRP as a ‘security’ as opposed to a ‘commodity’. Other countries view XRP as a commodity or currency, allowing it to be traded, subject to laws and regulations.
Awaiting the Landmark SEC Decision on Ripple & XRP
The outcome of the SEC proceedings remains to be seen. Add to the mix, the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021, which passed the House vote on 20th April 2021 and currently pending Senate approval, will shine a light on the status and regulation of cryptocurrencies.
Nevertheless, the decision passed by the SEC will most certainly have widespread consequences and effect on the tradability and status of XRP, apart from the almost $1 trillion cryptocurrency market worldwide.
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