Ripple has spent $200 million defending the case brought against it by the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse. 

Garlinghouse said this during a fireside chat at the Dubai Fintech Summit on May 8. He stated that the U.S. is stuck compared to the progress with the crypto regulation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) virtual asset regulatory authority and the recent European markets in crypto assets (MICA) bill. He went on to share that by the time the case is decided, Ripple will have spent $200 million dollars defending itself against a lawsuit which, from its very beginning, doesn’t make a lot of sense.

In a message to the SEC chair, Garlinghouse expressed regret about the U.S. falling behind significantly as Ripple expands to the UAE. According to him, the tough thing about the situation is having a country that has put politics ahead of policy. Garlinghouse said one of the first pieces of advice he gives entrepreneurs when they come and ask him about getting something started is,” If I were you, I would not start in the United States.” He believes many of us based companies and even U.S. public companies would agree with that.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.