Ripple CEO Slams CoinDesk Over Inaccurate Report on XRP

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticizes popular crypto news outlet CoinDesk for inaccurately reporting a recent court decision relating to XRP.

Recall that California District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton issued the highly anticipated decision in the securities class action against Ripple last week.

In the ruling, the judge dismissed all securities law violation claims against Ripple. However, she scheduled a jury trial for a state law claim regarding a 2017 statement made by Garlinghouse.

Consequently, some media outlets misinterpreted the decision, noting that the California court ruling could alter XRP’s non-security status, as determined by New York federal Judge Analisa Torres. As reported earlier, Garlinghouse dismissed these misconceptions, emphasizing that XRP is, in and of itself, not a security.

Garlinghouse Knocks CoinDesk for Spreading False Information About XRP

Despite the clarification, a recent CoinDesk report claims Judge Hamilton hinted that XRP could be a security. Reacting, the Ripple CEO faulted this claim and criticized the reputable media outlet for the inaccurate reporting.

“The CA Judge did NOT call XRP a security,” Garlinghouse remarked.

He emphasized that only XRP and Bitcoin have regulatory clarity in the U.S., which classifies the assets as non-securities. Furthermore, Garlinghouse recounted how CoinDesk deleted a misleading tweet and corrected a headline about the topic, hinting at a pattern of inaccurate reporting.

@CoinDesk – this is embarrassing. The CA Judge did NOT call XRP a security. In fact only XRP and BTC have clarity in the US.

You’ve already had to delete a misleading tweet (after correcting a misleading headline) on this topic once.

The industry needs CoinDesk to be better.

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) June 28, 2024

Pro-XRP Lawyer Weighs In

Meanwhile, other pro-XRP industry commentators also criticized CoinDesk after its recent report about the cryptocurrency’s legal status.

Attorney Bill Morgan slammed the media outlet for spreading misleading information about XRP’s legal status. He said the California judge did not rule that XRP is, or could be, a security.

He added that Judge Hamilton did not determine at summary judgment whether Ripple’s programmatic sales in the secondary market constitute investment contracts, a special type of security.

Conversely, Attorney Morgan stated that Judge Torres held that XRP is not a security and also found Ripple’s programmatic sales of the coin to be non-investment contracts. In addition, he asserted that XRP in itself currently has more legal clarity than Bitcoin.

“Spreading this misinformation about the legal status of XRP almost one year after the Torres decision is just dishonest,” Morgan added. Interestingly, the Community Notes feature on X has also debunked the claims from CoinDesk, citing Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty’s remarks.

It really is rubbish. @CoinDesk is a joke. Judge Torres clearly found XRP itself is not a security.

Judge Hamilton in California did not find XRP is or could be a security. She simply did not find on a summary judgement basis that Ripple programmatic sales of XRP in the… https://t.co/k6cTDPXsmm pic.twitter.com/5rJCf2WxCJ

— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) June 28, 2024

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