A photo of Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, standing next to entrepreneur and Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy, has gone viral in recent days. The image, shared by Alderoty on social media, is accompanied by a pointed commentary on Ripple’s history with the SEC and the urgent need for accountability. For those following the San Francisco company’s trajectory closely, this encounter may be more than a casual encounter.
Alderoty’s post revisited Ripple’s legal battles, particularly its efforts to counter what it sees as selective enforcement by the SEC under Gary Gensler. Earlier this year, Ripple emerged with a landmark ruling that finally classified XRP as non-security.
Despite being fined $120 million for institutional sales of unregistered securities, Ripple’s partial victory was seen as a turning point. With Gensler set to step down as SEC chairman in January, the timing of this discussion between Alderoty and Ramaswamy has got people talking.
Now this is one of the more bullish things I’ve seen for @ripple and $XRP. Keep in mind this is the exact same power move as the ETH universe capturing the SEC—except Ripple is (hopefully) going to do it the clean way instead lubin the palms of the SEC. https://t.co/RnLxWD9FSV
— Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) December 15, 2024
It’s worth noting the implications of Ripple’s engagement with figures like Ramaswamy. Ripple has faced a lot of criticism amid conspiracy theories that Ethereum-related entities influenced the SEC to favor ETH over XRP during its meteoric rise.
XRP is new Ethereum (ETH)?
Ripple’s legal defenders often draw parallels between the strategies of the two ecosystems, portraying Ripple as an entity seeking reform rather than favor. The meeting may signal Ripple’s efforts to align itself with individuals who will shape future regulatory conversations.
It looks like Ripple’s strategy is changing from fighting in court to talking with policymakers. By talking with important people in government, Ripple could become a force for making things better. This could help XRP indirectly, since the token has already gone up 400% in the past month and a half.
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