A meeting between Ripple and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] was held in the former’s office as per a tweet shared by CFTC commissioner Caroline D. Pham.
Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse also took to Twitter welcoming the top exec calling it “an absolute pleasure” and that the meeting was a typical “public-private engagement”.
Pham, an American lawyer who took over her new role in April 2022, described the visit to the blockchain firm as a “learning tour”.
Shortly after being sworn in as the CFTC commissioner, the top exec criticized SEC’s move for bringing insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager and two other individuals, calling it “a stunning example of regulation by enforcement”.
“Major questions are best addressed through a transparent process that engages the public to develop appropriate policy with expert input,” she wrote in a statement. “Regulatory clarity comes from being out in the open, not in the dark.”
While many in the crypto community hailed Pham’s bold stance, it exposed a growing feud between the SEC and the CFTC, two organizations that are supposed to work closely for regulating digital assets.
In fact, it has taken the shape of a political conflict between the top U.S. financial regulatory agencies after Chairman of the CFTC, Rostin Behnam testified at a recent Congressional hearing that it was the “right regulator” to oversee digital assets trading.
In a number of cases, the CFTC head has suggested an approach that is friendlier to the developing asset class than the SEC’s enforcement strategy.
Ripple Lawsuit’s Result Will Decide XRP’s Classification And CFTC’s Role
Following the latest announcement, the XRP community appeared ecstatic. Some took aim at the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC], asking the regulator to take a leaf out of its counterparts. Many in the community felt that the timing was not just a mere coincidence.
In a lawsuit alleging that the company’s XRP sales broke securities regulations, the SEC and Ripple both filed petitions for summary judgment on 17th Sept. The investigation into the case began in December 2020.
Crypto proponents believe that the outcome of the lawsuit may determine which federal regulator would handle the XRP token more like a commodity or securities.