Ripple’s chief financial officer steps down amid SEC lawsuit

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020 for using XRP to raise funds, which the commission claimed was a violation of securities laws.

Kristina Campbell, the chief financial officer of Ripple, has left the crypto payments platform for a comparable position at the virtual healthcare provider Maven Clinic.

According to Campbell’s LinkedIn, her employment at Ripple ended in October after more than 2 years without explanation other than a “memorable” time at the crypto firm. She joined Ripple in April 2021 after more than 4 years as CFO at payments platform PayNearMe.

“While healthcare is a complex, highly-regulated industry like fintech, it’s new to me,” said Campbell in an Oct. 7 post.

Campbell’s announcement came amid Ripple engaged in a legal battle started in December 2020 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) largely over sales of its XRP token. In July, a federal judge ruled that XRP was not a security when sold to retail investors — a ruling upheld in October following an appeal from the SEC.

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Ripple’s trial with the SEC is scheduled to begin in April 2024. It will come the same year as other high profile cases affecting the crypto space including the second criminal trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in March 2024 and the trial of former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky in September 2024.

It’s unclear if Campbell’s departure was related to any regulatory scrutiny Ripple is facing in the United States. CEO Brad Garlinghouse advised startup firms to avoid the U.S. as recently as September, while CTO David Schwartz said the “tide is turning” in regards to regulatory uncertainty in the country.

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