Ripple Wants To Drag Vitalik (Ethereum) Into SEC Lawsuit

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Last Updated on 4 February 2021 by CryptoTips.eu

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Vitalik Buterin, founder and CEO of cryptocoin and ditto blockchain Ethereum, has been a rare absentee from social media as of late. Although he does still tweet every few days, it is remarkably less than before. This is strange because of the fact that so much has happened in the past few days with regards to Bitcoin, GameStop, Reddit, Dogecoin and Ethereum itself.

In fact, this past week, Ethereum has seen a record rise, both in its price and in the times it’s been mentioned in world media. Looks like classic MSM (Mainstream Media) has finally become aware there is more than only Bitcoin.

There is however a rumor swirling on social media that the reason for Vitalik’s absenteeism as of late is because of preparation for a possible call by the SEC to appear in the Ripple trial that is about to start.

As you know, Ripple Labs (and more specifically CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chairman Chris Larsen) is being charged by the SEC for hosting an improper token sale back in 2013. The SEC claims that XRP is a security, and thus should have been registered as such.

Advertentie.

Ethereum creation

Ripple has hit back, claiming XRP is not a security; that it has been deemed a valid currency by several leading monetary agencies in both the US and other countries.

Andrew Ceresney, attorney for Ripple, stated that:

The SEC’s case is unprecedented and ill-conceived. The SEC has ignored XRP’s clear status as a virtual currency, contradicting not only the findings of other U.S. regulatory agencies, but also international regulatory regimes. Over the last eight years, the XRP market, independent of Ripple’s activities, had grown to a massive scale- trading on over 200 exchanges worldwide. The SEC is now stretching the concept of an ‘investment contract’ beyond its breaking point. We look forward to presenting our case in Court.

In order to prove it’s point, Ripple is requesting any letters between Vitalik Buterin and Joe Lubin – the creators of Ethereum – and members of the SEC to see how others have registered their coins.

In a court document, Ripple now states:

The SEC’s filing, based on an overreaching legal theory, amounts to picking virtual currency winners and losers as the SEC has exempted bitcoin and ether from similar regulation.

When the news about the SEC charge against Ripple came out, Vitalik stated at the time:

Looks like the Ripple/XRP team is sinking to new levels of strangeness. They’re claiming that their shitcoin should not be called a security for *public policy reasons*, namely because Bitcoin and Ethereum are “Chinese-controlled”

Just to be clear: Garlinghouse and Buterin are apparently not friends. Clearly, the last on this issue has not been said yet.