Ripple CEO says he owns Ethereum

• Garlinghouse reveals he holds XRP and Ethereum. 
• Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple disagrees with the SEC whether ETH or XRP are securities.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, has said that he disagrees with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) latest claims regarding the leading smart contract platform, Ethereum.

Garlinghouse, who is also a personal investor in Ethereum, said that the SEC’s statement contrasts with what former Director of Corporate Finance Bill Hinman said in a speech in 2017. In that speech, Hinman said that the SEC had determined that Ethereum was not a security at the time.

Garlinghouse argued that the SEC’s latest statement is “picking winners and losers” unfairly. He pointed out that the SEC is currently suing Ripple Labs for allegedly selling XRP as an unregistered security. However, Garlinghouse argued that XRP is no different from Ethereum, which the SEC has said is not a security.

“Why would the SEC say that Ethereum went back to being a security after the merge to proof of stake?” Garlinghouse asked. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Garlinghouse also criticized the SEC for its lack of clarity on the definition of a security. He said that the SEC’s “shifting goal posts” are making it difficult for businesses to comply with the law.

The SEC has not yet responded to Garlinghouse’s comments.