David Schwartz, honorary chief technology officer of Ripple and co-founder of the XRP Ledger, has once again spoken about the company’s long-running lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He stated that he observed a similar enforcement approach in a case unrelated to the cryptocurrency industry.
Schwartz mentioned a state-level dispute.
What prompted his statement was a set of case materials released by U.S. attorney Kostas Moros. The dispute arose in Connecticut, where a large private manufacturer is challenging state legislation that restricts the sale of certain products.
The company stated that the state attorney general's office did not clearly specify whether its updated product line is legal, making it difficult for the company to determine whether it is in compliance, even when attempting to adjust its operations.
The core concern centers on compliance standards.
Schwartz posted on X that such practices are "extremely unfair." He believes the issue is not just enforcement itself, but that companies are required to comply with rules that are difficult to determine whether they are being followed.
He also expressed sarcasm with the phrase, “Ask me how I know.” Later, in response to a user’s question, Schwartz briefly wrote, “A little bird told me,” and included a link to Investopedia’s analysis of the SEC v. Ripple case.
The Ripple case controversy still centers on whether the rules were clear.
Ripple's lawsuit with the SEC has lasted for years. The SEC alleged that Ripple conducted over $1.3 billion in unregistered securities offerings through XRP tokens.
One of Ripple’s core defenses is that regulators failed to provide clear, transparent guidance on the standards applicable to digital assets. Schwartz’s recent statement once again refocuses the debate on whether companies could have known in advance what conduct would be compliant.