Stuart Alderoty, CLO of Ripple, prepared a skit explaining the definition of securities according to the company, supported by the recent ruling in the SEC v. Ripple case. The segment, titled “After Hours,” parodies U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s “Office Hours” series of videos, where he briefly explains investment subjects.
Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty Explains Securities, Investment Contracts, and Digital Currencies in Skit
Stuart Alderoty, CLO of Ripple, a cryptocurrency and financial services company, presented a parody skit titled “After Hours,” where he explained the definitions of securities and investment contracts. The segment was prepared as a parody of the “Office Hours” series of videos, where U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler explains investment topics informally and educationally.
In the “After Hours” segment, Alderoty explains the concept of securities, stating that the law lists a group of things that are always securities, like a share of stock, where companies like Apple owe holders a fiduciary duty, with shareholders having the possibility of holding Apple accountable if it does not fulfill its obligations. Alderoty explains this “is true no matter how you bought the stock.”
Also, he differentiates investment contracts from digital assets, explaining that, in his opinion, digital assets by themselves are not investment contracts. Alderoty stated:
Some would like you to think that a digital token can in and of itself be a ‘digital asset security.’ It can’t. Standing alone, it’s just a commodity or a virtual currency.
Alderoty Blasts SEC’s Overreach
Alderoty continued to rail against the SEC’s attempt to gain jurisdiction over things different from securities. As part of his presentation, he declared:
The SEC only has jurisdiction over securities … and they don’t like that. Like a hammer, they want everything to be a nail. But the law doesn’t work like that.
Alderoty’s explanation derives from the ruling reached by Judge Torres in the SEC v. Ripple case in July, where she details that XRP, a token used by Ripple in certain services, “is not in and of itself a ‘contract, transaction, or scheme’ that embodies the Howey requirements of an investment contract.”
Ripple’s CLO has criticized the behavior and statements of SEC Chair Gary Gensler on this issue before, stating that he constantly misstated the law “suggesting that tokens, standing alone, are investment contracts.”
What do you think about the Ripple’s CLO’s explanations on securities in his “After Hours” skit? Tell us in the comments section below.
