US Lawmakers Urge the SEC to Abide by the Court’s Ruling
- Ritchie Torres asked the SEC to focus its energy on bad actors who perpetrated serious crimes such as market manipulation and misappropriation of customer funds.
- The New York lawmaker urged the SEC to abide by last week’s ruling.
- A US federal court recently ruled that XRP was not a security except when sold to institutional investors.
US lawmaker Ritchie Torres has urged Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to reassess the agency’s stance on cryptocurrencies after its partial loss against Ripple last week.
The New York representative publicly shared a letter on Tuesday where he recommended the SEC restrict its prosecution to “bonafide bad actors” rather than randomly classifying all kinds of crypto assets as securities.
Congressman Torres also asked SEC Chair Gary Gensler to comply with the recent ruling by Judge Analisa Torress, who determined that Ripple’s XRP is not a security except when sold to institutional investors.
Congressman Torres also thanked Judge Analisa Torres for providing clarity by differentiating between securities and commodities, adding that the SEC “lacks the legal authority to regulate digital assets untethered from an actual security offering.”
Torres joined other experts in arguing that an immediate appeal of the court’s ruling was improbable and that the SEC’s case against Coinbase might also be in jeopardy given last week’s ruling.
“Under Chair Gensler, the SEC has not issued a single rule on crypto assets, nor has it given any clear guidance. All it has done is send mixed messages, one after the [other], not only contradicting the CFTC but often contradicting itself,” Rep. Torres said in his letter.
Representative Torres is another US lawmaker who supports cryptocurrencies. He joins the likes of Tom Emmer of Minnesota, French Hill of Arkansas, and Ted Cruz of Texas to voice their support for the industry.
Last week, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was one of those who applauded Ripple Labs after their partial victory over the SEC. The US lawmaker called the court’s ruling a “monumental development” and suggested that it become law.
Interestingly, the entire crypto community is speculating on how the SEC will respond to the court’s decision. Gensler stated on Monday, July 17, that he was “disappointed” in the potential effects of the judge’s ruling on retail investors and that the SEC was still deciding whether or not to take any further action.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
