Ripple was exploring the possibility of going public through an initial public offering (IPO) outside the United States, the head of the fintech company Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC. He said Ripple had shelved any plans for an IPO in the States due to a “hostile” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was “looking at other jurisdictions that have clear rules.”
Material from CNBC
Garlinghouse also called SEC Chairman Gary Gensler a "political liability." According to him, Ripple will consider the possibility of an IPO in the States if the regulator appoints a new head. At the same time, Garlinghouse said that going public for the company “is not a priority for the near future.”
At the beginning of the year, Reuters journalists reported that Ripple bought back securities from its shareholders. Garlinghouse confirmed this and noted that the transactions cost $1 billion. He emphasized the importance of securities liquidity.
Previously, Garlinghouse advised entrepreneurs not to open a crypto business in the US, as the country is stuck in regulating digital assets compared to progress in the UAE and the European Union. Ripple itself has applied for licenses in the UK and Ireland, and has also received permission to provide crypto services in Singapore.
Ripple has been in litigation with the SEC since December 2020. The regulator claims that the company's 2013 distribution of native tokens of its namesake payment protocol (XRP) was an unregistered offering of securities.
In July 2023, the court decided that XRP itself is not a security and can be offered to retail investors through digital exchanges. The SEC attempted to appeal this decision, but was denied.
In October, the SEC dropped its case against Garlinghouse and Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen, but in January of the new year called on the court to force the company to file financial statements for 2022-2023 related to institutional sales.
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Information from the site: GetBlock Magazine
