Ripple Says SEC Lawsuit Hasn’t Impacted Business in Asia

Amid Ripple’s regulatory troubles in the United States, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Brad Garlinghouse has disclosed that business is smooth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Garlinghouse made this known while speaking with Reuters on Friday about the company’s $1.3 billion lawsuits with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which started in December 2020. The SEC had charged Ripple and its principal executives of violating securities laws in the sale of XRP tokens in 2013.

Ripple’s Expansion in the Asia-Pacific Region

According to the CEO, even though the company’s businesses were hindered in the United States, it hasn’t had a negative effect on its relationship in the Asia-Pacific region. He said instead of negativity there have been positive changes, growth, and expansion in the markets.

One of the reasons Garlinghouse gave to why there haven’t been any fallout in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region markets is due to the good standing the company has with the regulators.

“We have been able to continue to grow the business in Asia and Japan because we’ve had regulatory clarity in those markets.”

This comes as no surprise as Japan and other APAC countries have historically been favorable towards Ripple and XRP.

Ripple has grown such a commanding market share in these countries. It’s pertinent to note that Ripple is also part of a joint venture with Japanese conglomerate, SBI Holdings to form SBI Ripple. This JV firm is at the heart of numerous projects aimed at creating a Ripple-powered payment corridor in Asia.

Last year, Ripple expanded further into Southeast Asia by partnering with Deemoney, a major fintech company in Thailand. The fintech house uses RippleNet (Ripple’s global financial payments network) to facilitate outbound transfers from Thailand.

Ripple Continues to Soar

Despite the SEC lawsuit and the fallout that led to exchanges delisting or halting XRP trades, Garlinghouse appears to be unshaken. The Ripple CEO says Ripple would continue to soar as it has over 200 platforms where XRP is traded.

However, Garlinghouse disclosed that apart from U.S. crypto exchanges, asset managers and cryptocurrency funds like Bitwise and Grayscale have also liquidated their XRP holdings.

Ripple might as well carry out its threat of leaving the U.S. Recall that the executive chairman, Chris Larsen, has previously threatened to leave the U.S. if the country’s cryptocurrency regulations aren’t changed or improved upon. Larsen believes the crypto laws in the U.S are hindering the progress of American firms and most countries are handling the sector better than the U.S.