Ripple Labs Chief Lawyer and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor Celebrates SEC’s Latest Setback

Crypto leaders are celebrating the US Senate vote to support the passage of a resolution nullifying the anti-crypto banking rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Thursday, May 16 vote saw the US Senate support nullifying the controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB 121) rule.

Senate, Banks and Wall Street Desire Bitcoin

MicroStrategy (MSTR) chair Michael Saylor hailed the Senate vote to rescind the SAB 121 as a critical legislative victory for the crypto industry. The co-founder of the largest holder of Bitcoin among listed entities posted on the X social media network to celebrate the SEC’s latest setback at the Senate. 

Saylor indicated that the SEC’s latest setback was inevitable, suggesting that Wall Street and the House of Representatives desire Bitcoin. Saylor added that the 60 vote for rescinding SAB 121 against 38 illustrates that the Senate desires Bitcoin. 

The Senate replicated the House of Representatives to vote 60-38, with a majority supporting efforts to overturn the controversial SAB 121 bulletin by Gary Gensler-led SEC.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 11 other Democrats broke party lines by joining the Republicans in overturning the SEC guidance. 

The vote prompted admiration from the blockchain trade association, Digital Chamber, to celebrate the passage of Res 109, nullifying SAB 121. 

Senate Delivers Critical Legislative Win for Crypto

The founder and chief executive of decentralized finance (DeFi) lender Compound Labs, Robert Leshner, profiled the 60-38 vote as the first of the critical legislative wins for the crypto industry. 

Leshner echoed Saylor’s views that the controversial SAB 121 rule mandated banks to custody crypto assets to record them as liability entries on their balance sheets. The executive argued that the rule would incapacitate the banks’ ability to offer digital asset custodial services. 

Zero Knowledge Consulting founder Austin Campbell shared in the Senate victory that the unilateral rule adopted by the Commission harboured the potential to hurt the crypto holders’ rights. The managing executive ruled out the existence of an economic rationale for holding capital against the assets for which one lacks ownership rights. 

Campbell illustrated that SAB 121 was explicitly crafted to bar the regulated financial entities from offering custodial services. The executive noted that the SEC’s guidance would only benefit the non-regulated custodians. 

Campbell lamented the possibility of the SAB 121 being a component of what fueled the sudden FTX collapse. Its absence would have ushered regulated custodians operating to serve clients and exchanges, averting self-dealing incidents and theft. 

Ripple Labs’ Attorney Hails SEC’s Latest Setback

Ripple Labs’ top lawyer, Stuart Alderoty, expressed gratitude for the bipartisan cooperation demonstrated in the Senate. The legal executive celebrated the bipartisan vote on Thursday for delivering victory to overturn the anti-crypto SEC rule. 

Alderoty joined fellow crypto luminaries to warn that the SAB 121 threatened regulatory custodial services nationwide. The rule affirmed the ‘unauthorized overreach’ of SEC perpetrated by its chair, Gary Gensler that legislators from both parties will not tolerate. 

The crypto industry took issue with the SAB 121 rule as it would hinder banks from offering custodial services. Several critics, led by the Commission’s cryptocurrency-friendly member Hester Peirce, labelled the SAB 12 as scattershot and inefficient for custodial services. 

Alderoty slammed the SAB 121 rule and hailed the crypto industry, banks and legislators’ unity to repeal the repressive policy. The Banks cited the inherent volatility in crypto as likely to affect the balance sheets negatively.  

Gensler defended the SAB 121 rule, illustrating that the banks and crypto industry did not question the previous 120 SABs.

Alderoty Urges Bipartisan Cooperation to Pass Crypto-Related Bills

Alderoty joined fellow crypto leaders, keeping a close eye on the recent developments on Capitol Hill.  The crypto lawyer reiterated the essence of bipartisan cooperation to ensure the passage of crypto-related bills. 

Alderoty acknowledges the recent efforts by the US lawmakers indicative of devotion to passing the much-anticipated stablecoin bill. Its passage is critical for Ripple Labs as it edges closer to unveiling a dollar-pegged stablecoin already appearing in the Commission’s crosshairs. 

Editorial credit: JRdes / Shutterstock.com