David Schwartz, the chief technical officer at San Francisco-based Ripple Labs, has commented on the recent SEC fine of $1 million against the creator of the well-known Stoner Cats NFT series via the X app.
Schwartz responded to a recent tweet from Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer of Ripple, in which he discussed Stoner Cats 2 LLC receiving a punishment from the SEC. Alderoty seemed to be upset by how quickly the company behind the well-known NFT collection consented to pay that amazing USD amount as a fine without even attempting to sue the SEC, as Ripple and Grayscale recently did. He did acknowledge, though, that he is not entirely familiar with the details of this specific instance.
A “pyrrhic victory,” attained in three years, was highlighted by the Ripple CTO in a response to that tweet. According to him, no one should consider compromising “for single digit millions” or spending “double digit millions to get a pyrrhic victory in three years” as victories.
https://x.com/JoelKatz/status/1702152913848762683?s=20
The neighbourhood did not appear to have taken note, but Schwartz appears to be referring to Ripple Labs’ recent triumph over the SEC in court in this passage.
In case anybody was unaware, a user of the X app explained what a Pyrrhic triumph is and where the phrase originated, saying that it entails a “devastating toll on the victor” that is virtually equivalent to being vanquished.
“A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that exacts such a terrible toll on the victor that it is equivalent to defeat,” the user commented. Such a win invalidates any genuine sense of accomplishment and hinders long-term advancement. The term is derived from a remark by Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose victory against the Romans at the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC forced the end of his war by destroying a large portion of his soldiers.
Before Gary Gensler, the company’s current CEO, was appointed to the post of chairman in December 2020, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission brought accusations against Ripple.
Judge Analisa Torress finally ruled in favour of Ripple Labs in mid-July of this year, saying that the company’s secondary market XRP sales do not count as selling securities. The matter took three years to resolve.
The SEC has now appealed against that court ruling. Ripple has previously asked the court to dismiss the SEC’s complaint in this case. Even if the blockchain powerhouse invested tens of millions of dollars and three years to win, the fight is far from finished.
