Ripple asks SEC chair to recuse self from crypto enforcement cases

Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty asked the U.S. SEC chairman Gary Gensler to recuse himself from voting on any enforcement case relating to cryptocurrencies because he has prejudged the issue.

In a Feb. 28 tweet, Alderoty alluded that Gensler’s statement that “every cryptocurrency, except BTC, is an unregistered security” was evidence of his disposition towards other crypto assets.

The Ripple official cited a legal case between Antoniu and the SEC as the basis of his argument.

In the case, the SEC’s attempt to permanently ban a stockbroker from getting employment from a securities firm was foiled because a commissioner of the regulator had prejudged the case with his public statement.

The court ruled that there was no way to ascertain how the commissioner’s participation affected the SEC’s deliberations, adding that the commissioner’s continued involvement in the debarment proceeding violated due process.

SEC’s chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly stated that most crypto assets are securities. Under him, the financial regulator has brought enforcement actions against several crypto firms for violating federal securities law.

Meanwhile, the SEC and Ripple are still embroiled in a legal tussle over the classification of XRP.

Journalist at CryptoSlate

Oluwapelumi is a believer in the transformative power Bitcoin and the blockchain industry holds.