Ripple CLO Criticizes Gary Gensler’s Justification For Crypto Lawsuits

Ripple Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Stuart Alderoty has criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler following his attempt to justify the crypto lawsuits that the Commission has instituted. The Ripple CLO’s statement has come amid speculations that Gensler could soon resign as the SEC Chair.

Ripple CLO Criticizes Gary Gensler’s Claim On Crypto Lawsuits

In an X post, the Ripple CLO criticized Gensler’s attempt to justify his four-year-long political crusade to destroy crypto by claiming he just continued what Jay Clayton began. Stuart Alderoty states this is like “burning down the house” and pleading innocence by arguing that Clayton lit the match.

Alderoty was referring to Gary Gensler’s speech in which he discussed the crypto industry. Gensler stated that when he arrived in 2021, the Commission under Jay Clayton had already brought 80 actions, including the Ripple case. The US SEC Chair remarked that this lawsuit was against participants in the crypto markets who were not following the “common-sense rules” of the road.

However, the Ripple CLO believes that the fact that Clayton instituted these lawsuits doesn’t justify all that Gensler has done in his four years as the SEC Chair to hinder the crypto industry’s growth. Gensler is known for his anti-crypto stance and has argued that most crypto assets are securities.

Interestingly, Gensler also hinted in that speech that he would likely resign soon enough as the SEC Chair. Individuals like former SEC official John Reed Stark have called on Gensler to resign since Donald Trump won the US presidential elections.

Meanwhile, the SEC looks to be getting a taste of its medicine. 18 US state attorney generals have filed a lawsuit accusing the SEC of a constitutional overreach in crypto regulation.

The Next SEC Chair Will Be Pro-Crypto

Amid the Ripple CLO’s statement, journalist Eleanor Terrett has confirmed that the next US SEC Chair will be pro-crypto. However, she suggested that the crypto industry and community should focus more on who becomes the next Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair.

This came as she cited sources who told Fox Business that the Donald Trump administration is looking to give the CFTC more responsibility regarding crypto regulation. She added that it is unclear how the CFTC will go about this, but it will require more funding than it currently has.

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently expressed enthusiasm about the shifting regulatory landscape. Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty had also recently called on Donald Trump to work towards fulfilling his promise of making the US the crypto capital by ending the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement approach.