SEC Suffers Embarrassing Blow To Anti-Crypto Bill, Ripple CLO Celebrates The Victory

The
United
States
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
has
experienced
another
embarrassing
setback,
as
an
anti-crypto
bill


proposed

by
the
regulator
has
been
completely
shut
down
by
the


United
States
Senate.
Ripple’s
Chief
Legal
Officer
(CLO),
Stuart
Alderoty,
has
openly
celebrated
this
outcome,
marking
it
a
noteworthy
victory
for
the
cryptocurrency
industry. 

SEC’s
Anti
Crypto
Bill
Falters

 On
March
31,
2022,
the


US
SEC

proposed
a
Staff
Accounting
Bulletin
No.121
(SAB121),
requiring
financial
institutions
responsible
for
the
crypto
assets
of
clients
to
record
or
register
these
digital
assets
as
liabilities
on
their
balance
sheets.
This
bill,
viewed
as
a


threat

to
the
decentralized
nature
of
the
cryptocurrency
industry
and
US
regulatory
custodial
services,
was


labeled

by
Alderoty
as
an
“unauthorized
overreach”
by
the
SEC
Chair,


Gary
Gensler. 

In
an
almost
unanimous
decision
with
Bipartisan
support,
the
Senate
and
the


House
of
Representatives

voted
vehemently
against
the
controversial
SAB-121
proposal. 

Paul
Grewal,
the
Chief
Legal
Officer
of
crypto
exchange,
Coinbase,


disclosed

in
a
post
on
X
(formerly
Twitter)
that
the
Senate
voted
for
repeal,
achieving
a
supermajority
with
approximately
60
yes
votes
and
an
added
rebuke
for
the
SEC’s
“overreach
and
disdain
for
the
federal
administrative
law.”  

Furthermore,
Alderoty
commemorated
the
Senate’s
rebuff
of
the
SEC’s
anti-crypto
bill,


emphasizing

that
Gensler’s
attempt
to
control
the
cryptocurrency
industry
was
getting
out
of
hand.
He
also
stated
that
the


regulator’s
ongoing
efforts
to
govern
an
industry

beyond
its
purview
would
not
be
tolerated
anymore,
highlighting
that
technological
innovation
should
not
be
a
partisan
issue.

MicroStrategy’s
Co-founder
and
former
Chief
Executive
Officer
(CEO),
Michael
Saylor
also


commented

on
the
SEC’s
revoked
bill
in
an
X
post,
celebrating
the
Senate’s
bipartisan
decision.

“Wall
Street
wants
Bitcoin,
the
House
of
Representatives
wants
Bitcoin,
and
now
the
Senate
wants
Bitcoin,”
Saylor
stated. 

Currently,
the
failure
of
the
SEC’s
proposed
bill
represents
a
significant
blow
to
the
regulator’s


aggressive
stance
on
cryptocurrency
regulation.
This
comes
on
the
heels
of
the
agency’s
legal
battle
with


Ripple

and
a
series
of
enforcement
actions
and
lawsuits
against
cryptocurrency
companies
such
as
UniSwap,
Coinbase,
Binance,
MetaMask
and
more. 

Moreover,
the
nullified
bill
highlights
the
growing


influence
of
the
crypto
industry

in
both
technological
and
political
circles,
securing
recognition
among
lawmakers
and
traditional
banking
institutions
in
the
US. 

Pro-Ripple
Lawyer
Calls
SEC
Actions
“Regulatory
Insanity”

In
another
X
post,


John
E.
Deaton,
a
pro-XRP
lawyer
and
supporter,
has


described

the
SEC’s
aggressive
enforcement
actions
on
the
crypto
industry
as
“regulatory
insanity.”
He
disclosed
that
the
US
SEC
was
being
used
as
a
weapon
by


Senator
Elizabeth
Warren,
a
crypto
antagonist
to
support
her
political
agendas. 

As
the
spokesperson
for
the
SEC’s
SAB-121
bill,
Warren
had
expressed
support
for
the
anti-crypto
proposal,
arguing
that
by
approving
the
rule,
investors
would
have
better
protection
against
risks
associated
with
cryptocurrency
volatility. 

Deaton
has
disclosed
that
the
SEC’s
attempt
to
“protect
investors”
was
laughable
given
that
the
regulator
has
caused
more
financial
distress
to
the
investors
it
claims
to
protect.
He
has
also
stated
that
Warren
was
placing
her
agendas
above


investor
protection. 

Chart
from
Tradingview.com