statements from the SEC contradict each other about whether Ripple's XRP is a security

The SEC, a government agency tasked with protecting investors, appears to be struggling to do its job. On Wednesday, the SEC released a statement that Ripple's XRP token is a security. While this does not directly contradict previous SEC statements, it does contradict Ripple's previous interpretation of whether XRP is a security.

The confusion began when SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce tweeted in January that she doesn't understand why anyone would want to own digital currency and keep it in their accounts. Why don't they keep dollars in their accounts?- seemed to mention

However, Peirce later clarified that he only meant tokens created by corporations and therefore subject to securities laws. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are cryptocurrencies, but they weren't created by corporations, which created some ambiguity.

A few days later, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said he was “unfamiliar” with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum being considered investment securities under federal law.