Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an interview with CNBC, calling the regulator "very hostile" and its chairman Gary Gensler a "political liability." Garlinghouse stated that Gensler's way of regulating the crypto industry was not effective and that the SEC's approach to crypto was openly hostile. Ripple was sued by the SEC in 2020 for allegedly selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP, and while the company won a partial victory in court, Garlinghouse stated that going public with an IPO in the US was not currently on the cards due to the SEC's approach to crypto.