Ripple closed down almost in 2020 for SEC prosecution. CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that the Government had "infinite powers and resources", which made the decision to fight back difficult.
XRP payment technology
According to Garlinghouse, XRP is fast, low-cost and scalable, and therefore Ripple constructs payment technology around it. He compared XRP to Bitcoin, stressing that the purchase of XRP did not imply ownership of Ripple ' s shares.
SEC Position
The SEC considered that XRP should be considered a security, not a currency or a commodity, and charged Ripple with selling unregistered securities. Garlinghouse recalled that he had met with SEC staff four times between 2017 and 2019, but was never informed that XRP might be a security.
The cost of a legal struggle.
Four years of legal struggle with the SEC cost Ripple about $150 million. Although Ripple eventually won the case, SEC indicated that it would appeal. According to Garlinghouse, the new SEC leadership took a more constructive approach to the encryption industry and called for clear rules for the industry to facilitate its development in the United States.