Elon Musk Slams SEC, Ripple CEO Agrees

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As a seasoned researcher with a keen interest in the intersection of technology, finance, and governance, I find Elon Musk’s recent critique of the SEC intriguing. Having closely followed the dynamics between these entities over the years, I can certainly see where he is coming from. The SEC, an institution designed to ensure fairness and transparency, seems to have ventured into uncharted territories, especially when it comes to issues like diversity quotas in corporate decision making.

Elon Musk has criticized the U.S. SEC for being a “weaponized institution” in a recent post on X

The SEC is just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2024

Both Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple CTO David Schwartz reacted to Musk’s post.

What he said 👇

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) December 13, 2024

👍

— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) December 12, 2024

Elon Musk’s criticism arises following reports that the expanded panel of the Fifth Circuit Court, in a decision penned by Judge Andrew Oldham, has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acted illegally when they endorsed Nasdaq’s policy requiring corporate boards to adopt an ethnic or gender diversity benchmark.

As an analyst, I am highlighting that, consistent with the ruling by the judge, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the mandate to maintain a fair and unbiased market environment. This responsibility does not extend to influencing corporate decision-making through politically charged identity politics. For a comprehensive understanding of the case, I invite you to refer to the full decision in the comments section below.

Lately, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a petition from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s legal team, who sought penalties against Elon Musk due to his noncompliance with a court summons for his deposition.

Following the unveiling of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), Elon Musk, often referred to as “the Dogefather,” has openly shown a lack of respect towards the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In his role as a government official, Musk intends to scale down the federal budget by approximately 30%, which amounts to $2 trillion. One of his strategies for achieving this goal involves implementing a policy that requires all government employees to return to their offices. Additionally, he has suggested the possible elimination of entire agencies to help reach this target reduction in spending.

Ripple is back on track

On Tuesday, it was officially confirmed that the RLUSD stablecoin received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

Ripple is now permitted to make RLUSD available to the general public, signifying a substantial move into New York’s supervised digital finance sector and enhancing its influence in the stablecoin environment. RLUSD will offer a U.S.-regulated option to Tether’s USD-pegged USDT, which currently controls over $130 billion of the stablecoin market share.

Ripple is making a shift at a time when the market is becoming more competitive, as firms such as PayPal are also working on creating stablecoins to tap into this profitable industry.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has instructed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to submit their final arguments by January 15th. After this deadline, the court will review the motions to either discard parts or continue with the entire case.

In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought a lawsuit against Ripple, claiming that the sale of XRP by Ripple was an unauthorized offering of securities that should have been registered.

Ripple argues that XRP should be categorized as a digital money rather than a security. This distinction matters significantly because if Ripple is deemed to have sold securities (XRP), it could establish a regulatory precedent across the cryptocurrency market, potentially altering the legal landscape for the entire crypto industry.

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2024-12-14 12:38