Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer at Ripple Labs, feels hopeful about the future. He believes the next head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might drop some enforcement cases against crypto firms.
Right now, Paul Atkins awaits Senate confirmation for the SEC position. In a recent discussion on January 28 during XRP Community Day 2025, Alderoty shared his thoughts. He thinks the SEC could dismiss cases that don’t involve fraud and are mostly about registration issues.
Ripple is currently in a legal battle with the SEC. The SEC claims Ripple used XRP tokens as an unregistered security to raise funds. In August 2024, a judge found Ripple liable for over $125 million. Both Ripple and the SEC have filed appeals since then.
Alderoty mentioned that if Atkins does take over, it could take time to sort through these legal matters. He pointed out that the SEC operates like a bureaucracy. He firmly believes that litigation is not the way forward for the country. “I remain cautiously optimistic,” he said, “that at some point in 2025, the case will be voluntarily withdrawn.”
The SEC's case against Ripple started back in December 2020. The ongoing legal issues have led to Ripple appealing the SEC's findings. Alderoty also highlighted the positive environment for crypto under the Trump administration. He noted a recent executive order aimed at forming a working group to study digital asset regulations and the SEC's creation of a crypto task force.
Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, previously stated that 75% of the company's job openings would be in the U.S. due to the 2024 election outcomes. However, it’s still unclear if Atkins will get enough votes for confirmation after being nominated by President Trump.
Alderoty believes the Republican-led Congress, which includes lawmakers Ripple may have supported through significant contributions, could push forward a crypto market structure bill. “I think we have a pro-crypto Congress driven by a pro-crypto president,” he remarked. He’s optimistic that legislation could happen before the end of 2025.
Additionally, Alderoty and Garlinghouse have built a close relationship with Trump. They dined with him at Mar-a-Lago and attended official events in Washington, D.C. Alderoty personally donated over $300,000 to political action committees supporting Trump in the 2024 election. Ripple also contributed $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s inaugural fund.