Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has levelled fresh criticisms against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amidst an ongoing legal battle over the classification of XRP, Ripple’s native token.
Garlinghouse’s comments were in response to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s presentation of the agency’s fiscal year budget to the House Appropriations Committee.
For the Chair of the SEC to assert that he dictates what is a security – and not the legislation from which his agency derives its power – is beyond comprehension. It’s time for elected officials in the US to take notice. https://t.co/kvat6ixUdS
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) March 30, 2023
In a series of tweets, Garlinghouse expressed his disbelief in SEC chairman Gary Gensler’s claims about crypto assets, labelling them as “beyond comprehension”. He remarked that with the SEC chair acting like an autocrat in charge of an overinflated $2.2 billion agency, the agency would likely refrain from clarifying what crypto assets fall within its purview.
Garlinghouse accused the SEC of failing to establish clear regulations and criticized Gensler’s approach to determining what qualifies as a security. He suggested that the SEC’s “ambiguity masquerades as power” due to the absence of well-defined jurisdiction.
According to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the SEC’s proposed $2.4 billion budget includes a staggering $1.6 billion for employee salaries and benefits, with an average salary of approximately $156,458 for its 5,473 employees. This salary is reportedly 125% higher than the national average income for government workers and 115% higher than any other federal agency.
Meanwhile, DeFi Planet reported that Gensler endorsed President Joe Biden’s call for $2.4 billion in funding for the US SEC to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation in financial markets, especially in emerging and novel sectors such as the crypto industry.
Gensler noted that the swift technological advancements in financial markets have created more opportunities for misconduct in emerging and novel sectors, especially in the crypto industry. He stressed the need for new tools, resources, and expertise to effectively address potential misconduct in these new terrains of the financial sector.
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