Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has openly criticized the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, for his comments concerning the SEC’s regulatory strategy. In the first quarter of 2023, the SEC launched multiple regulatory measures against cryptocurrency exchanges and firms.

In a June 29, 2023 interview with CNBC, Clayton shared his perspective, suggesting that the U.S. SEC should initiate legal actions against particular companies exclusively when they possess a robust legal basis. He stressed the importance of regulatory agencies enacting regulations and legal proceedings that they believe will effectively withstand legal examination.

With the SEC’s decision to dismiss the allegations without prejudice, the Ripple CEO pointed out that the former SEC Chair had initiated a lawsuit that had slim prospects of success in court. In the December 2020 XRP lawsuit, the SEC had charged Garlinghouse and Larsen with conducting an “unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering,” claiming that they had raised over $1.3 billion.

Garlinghouse reiterated, “Just to refresh your memory, Jay Clayton filed the lawsuit against Ripple, Chris Larsen, and me, and then departed the agency the very next day.”

Clayton’s remarks from June 2023 have attracted significant interest, especially in light of the recent legal developments concerning Garlinghouse and the co-founder of Ripple, Chris Larsen. As previously noted, the charges against these individuals were dismissed by the U.S. SEC.

The recent acquittal of the two executives comes in the wake of a ruling by Judge Analisa Torres in July 2023, concluding that the sale of XRP on secondary markets to individual purchasers does not meet the criteria for an investment contract.