Op-Ed: XRP vs. SEC, The Battle for Crypto’s Future

The SEC’s recent appeal in the XRP case (scandal) is wild. We wish we could say it is unbelievable – but given the absurdity of the case – it was to be expected!

XRP isn’t an investment in the same way equities are. It just isn’t. There is no ownership implied. There are no guarantees of returns. XRP isn’t equity in Ripple Labs. The SEC wants to make an example of a company – but it isn’t working.

The brass tacks of the XRP situation are simple: whoever put Biden and Gensler into power hates cryptos. It’s not difficult to see a totalitarian takeover of the West. Censorship is on the rise, personal freedoms are being eroded – and decentralized assets are a massive target.

Much like Donald Trump and Alex Jones – XRP is a warning to anyone who wants a decent social contract. If you love the lifestyle in North Korea – Biden and Gensler are your allies.

Humiliation Awaits

Someone loses this culture clash.

There is clearly a group that wants to wind Western culture back around 1200 years and undo what we now call human rights. Totalitarianism isn’t new – but rolling it out into formerly “free” societies like the US and UK is a crazy gambit.

XRP isn’t especially decentralized – but it is a company. It can be sued. Clearly whoever is against free speech, cryptos, and human dignity sees Ripple Labs as an example that can be made.

Like many things in the modern West – Ripple Labs is being antagonized by bending existing laws to fit an extreme political agenda. The Howey Test is used by the SEC to determine if something is a security. When applied to XRP or any of the L1 blockchains – it fails to classify tokens as securities.

Where Are The Oranges Gary?

The “Howey” in the Howey Test refers to a guy with the last name of Howey who had an orange growing scheme. It used money from investors to buy land to grow oranges – then the oranges would be sold. You can read about it here.

Long story short, to be classified as a security – a financial arrangement must meet 4 criteria in the US (stolen directly from Investopedia – thanks y’all):

• An investment of money
• In a common enterprise
• With the expectation of profit
• To be derived from the efforts of others

XRP doesn’t fit the model. There are no oranges. There is no common enterprise. XRP is a token on a ledger that may as well be worthless. It is a transactional tool that may or may not have a market value.

The SEC and shadowy political powers hate XRP because it could replace the Western financial system. The base of the military-industrial complex isn’t weapons – or even the armed forces – it is fiat currency.

Evil: Banal, Absurd, Both?

In the modern media landscape – it’s tough to massage war into something palatable.

You have to really dig to find pictures of little kids who were shot in the head or chest by a professional. The military-industrial complex needs war – but it needs endless money to pay for all the resources, politicians, military equipment, and much more.

If our money had some anchor in reality – endless global war would be much harder to operate. XRP – and cryptos – threaten the military-industrial complex money creation machine. That is why the SEC won’t let the Ripple case go.

One of the small issues here is the use of absurdity to expand state power. With endless free money, there is no constraint on what violent control structures are able to roll out. XRP, while not decentralized, does pose an existential threat to the global fiat currency system.

The strategy is that money can be created without limit, turned into weapons of war, and used on anyone the military-industrial complex chooses. It is pure evil. The situation is also totally absurd. If it wasn’t creating so much suffering – it would be hilarious!

Far From Shocking

Welcome to the world of US government-led lawfare.

When the first SEC first went after Ripple a few years ago – it looked reactionary. At least we gave the regulator the benefit of the doubt. It was behind the curve – and lashing out at an easy target.

The SEC v. XRP situation looks a lot darker today.

Since the case began – lawfare became the norm in the USA. Both Trump and Alex Jones are on the wrong side of a weaponized legal system. In a nation that can’t guarantee fair representation in the legal system at the highest levels – all bets are off.

Stalin’s show trials are where this kind of “legal” enforcement are headed. The form show trials could take today is up in the air. We think Gensler’s SEC could install a whipping post in front of the NY FED and go to work on anyone who stands in the way of USD hegemony.

You know Gensler has it out for Garlinghouse at this point. Picture him driving by the NY FED with a bullwhip in his hand – behind tinted windows – trying his best to manifest public humiliation – and extreme pain for anyone who stands in his way.

Put it on national television.

The whippings will be on CNN!

24 hours a day!!!

A thousand year reich!!!

Oops, forgot. Gary wasn’t supposed to let the last one slip…

Nip It In The Bud

Much in the way that Trump could represent proto-Christian fascism, whoever is running Harris and the SEC (among many other global political entities) likely represents some variant of proto-socialist totalitarianism.

The SEC was in the wrong from day one with the XRP case. It is a non-starter. Because the legal system in the USA is teetering on the brink of absurdity, the case made it this far. It is truly a sad era for the Western dream of liberty and human rights.

Even more disturbing is the fact that so few care about the plight of those who are targeted by lawfare globally. We expect this kind of madness in a nation like North Korea – but not in the Southern District of New York.

While the saying is attributed to East Asia, it seems to be Western in origin.

How fitting.

Regardless, it may be the best strategy at the moment:

“If you sit by the river for long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by…”

We wonder how much damage will be done before we see them floating down the river.