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The general council of one of the major cryptocurrency companies in the world has left its position. Ripple has confirmed to Quartz that Brynly Llyr is no longer with the payment network and remittance. Per Llyr's LinkedIn profile has served as a general adviser to Ripple since November 2016, and before that he has held senior legal roles at PayPal and eBay. The news of the departure was reported for the first time in Quartz's Private Key newsletter.
"We are grateful for everything he did to help build an incredible team," a Ripple spokesperson said. "We wish Brynly all the best in his next engagement and the team here at Ripple awaits the next chapter, where we will continue to pave the way in this ever-changing and unexplored sector."
Llyr could not be reached for comment.
Ripple is preparing for a class action battle on whether his cryptocurrency XRP is a security or not and has strengthened his legal team by retaining heavyweights as the former president of the US Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Jo White and the former executive director, Andrew Ceresney. Although Llyr is an experienced lawyer with impressive credentials, he does not have the same influence as some of these other legal advisors. However, the business of Ripple's internal legal team comes at an embarrassing time, given the imminent case.
Ripple argued that the XRP, created before the company was officially formed, is not a security. If it is a security, defined as an investment in a joint venture with a value that can be influenced by a promoter, Ripple must meet stringent registration and disclosure requirements. The company has huge reserves of cryptographic assets and has advertised plans to use XRP for payments. The case, which is heard in the federal court, could reverberate – or wrinkle, it could be said – in the entire cryptocurrency sector, since other issuers of tokens may also be subjected to a more thorough check for the trading of unrecorded securities.
