Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Calls for Digital Asset Reserve, Declares Maximalism the Enemy of Crypto Progress

This call comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission has quietly removed documents related to the civil actions against Ripple Labs from its website

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has called for a digital asset reserve that is representative of the entire cryptocurrency industry, not just a single token, while also noting that maximalism was the enemy of progress in the crypto space.

This call comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission has quietly removed documents related to the civil actions against Ripple Labs from its website, a move that signals a shifting legal landscape for the company.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Garlinghouse stated, "If a government digital asset reserve is created – I believe it should be representative of the industry, not just one token, whether it be Bitcoin BTC/USD, XRP XRP/USD or anything else."

He also added that "we live in a multichain world, and I've advocated for a level-playing field, instead of one token versus another."

Garlinghouse also made sure to highlight his belief that “Maximalism remains the enemy of crypto progress, and I'm very glad to see fewer and fewer folks ascribe to this outdated and misinformed thinking.”

Adding to this development, it has been discovered that the SEC has removed civil actions and other documentation related to Ripple from its official website. This action from the SEC comes on the heels of a recent ruling in favor of Ripple.

The SEC first filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in December 2020, alleging that the company and its executives had conducted an unregistered securities offering through the sale of its native token, XRP.

The SEC argued that XRP was a security and therefore subject to U.S. securities laws.

The case became a landmark one for the crypto industry, with the outcome potentially setting a precedent for how other tokens would be classified and regulated.

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres delivered a crucial ruling that favored Ripple on several key aspects.

The court ruled that XRP was not a security when sold to the general public on exchanges but was deemed a security when sold to institutions or hedge funds.

This split ruling was seen as a partial victory for Ripple and provided some clarity on the classification of tokens in the United States, with a distinction being drawn between institutional and retail sales.

Despite the partial victory, the SEC recently filed its appeal, signaling that they are still not backing down from their claims.

In response to the SEC’s appeal, Ripple had requested a deadline of April 16 to file its response.

Ripple's legal team had remained confident, arguing that the SEC's appeal simply rehashes previously made arguments.

They also stated that they are hopeful that a change in administration might lead to the case being dropped altogether.

However, the SEC’s litigation releases page no longer includes details about the Ripple case, sparking speculation about the case's current status.

XRP is up 8% over the past 24 hours, trading at $3.13 at the time of writing.