Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple will leave the US if it loses its lawsuit with the SEC

Article Reading Time:
2 minutes.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that if the company loses the lawsuit with the SEC, it may move from the United States. Garlinghouse plans to open an office in Toronto.

Late last year, the Securities CommissionThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple, accusing the company of illegally conducting an ICO worth $1.3 billion. The regulator claims that XRP is a security, and the parties still cannot come to an agreement. At the Collision conference in Toronto, Brad Garlinghouse said that if the court rules in favor of the SEC, this will not affect the crypto industry in any way, and the company will simply move to another jurisdiction.

“If Ripple loses the trial, will anything change for cryptocurrencies?” Garlinghouse asks.

In April, Ripple won a “small” victory incase against the SEC after Judge Sarah Netburn denied the regulator's motion to subpoena documents related to speech by former Commission Chairman William Hinman. In 2018, he argued that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not considered securities. Garlinghouse is trying to prove that the “nature” of XRP is similar to BTC and ETH.

However, the SEC insists that Hinman expressedhis personal opinion and did not express the position of the department. An investigation is now underway into whether Hinman had a conflict of interest when he made his controversial speech. The results of the investigation can greatly affect the outcome of the case.

Ripple recently announced plans to open an officein Toronto, creating about 50 new jobs. In addition to Ripple's 300 employees in the US, the same number of people work for the company abroad, so a change of jurisdiction would not make much difference to the firm. Perhaps, by doing so, Ripple is “preparing the ground” for any scenario. 

Garlinghouse previously said that due to excessive pressure from American regulators, the company may change jurisdiction to the UK.