Alexander Grieve, who is in charge of government affairs at Paradigm, has started to figure out what the latest action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that targets Ripple’s stablecoin project means.
Grieve states that the SEC’s mention of Ripple’s stablecoin project, which has not been officially named yet, comes after it was revealed that stablecoin rules would not be added to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024.
This lack of rules gave the Securities and Exchange Commission a chance to look closely at Ripple’s most recent report. It is said in the statement that Ripple is planning to release an “unregistered crypto asset.” The San Francisco-based company announced its stablecoin project last month.
At the moment, lawmakers are negotiating the details of the stablecoin bill. U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-California) has hinted that the version will soon be finalized.
SEC’s Stablecoin Legislation
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced a new version of their stablecoin legislation in April. This version specifically bans the creation of algorithmic stablecoins. Grieve talked about the bills that Lummis-Gillibrand and McHenry-Waters wanted to pass.
He pointed out that they depend on careful oversight from the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and state regulators. Given that the Securities and Exchange Commission is a part of the President’s Working Group (PWG), he was confused by its position.
Grieve also pointed out that stablecoin producers are not required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by current rules, which makes the “unregistered” claim confusing. He asked Congress to pass “technology-neutral” and “pragmatic” laws about stablecoins to stop what he sees as the SEC’s pointless efforts.
Grieve was hired by Paradigm last year to have an impact on U.S. Bitcoin policy. At that time, he talked about the “legislative momentum” in Congress, which meant that the efforts of the business community were paying off. He also said that Ripple’s partly legal win against the SEC was an encouraging sign for the industry.
