Judge rejects SEC’s motion to file an appeal against Ripple ruling

October 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

SEC appeal could amplify Ripple win, says Ripple Labs legal chief

July 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Stuart Alderoty says that an appeal by the Securities and Exchange Commission could see Ripple consolidate its victory over the regulator even further.

Concerns of a potential appeal by the United States securities regulator to the landmark Ripple ruling earlier this month were shrugged off by Ripple’s chief legal officer.

Stuart Alderoty believes that if the SEC takes the case to an appeal, the court could move to consolidate Ripple Labs’ partial victory over the financial regulator even further.

Speaking on a July 26 TechCrunch podcast, Alderoty reiterated his position that the XRP (XRP) token does not constitute an investment contract and that the Ripple team would not shy away from any appeal brought to the courts by the SEC.

“We think the judge got that right, and we think that was a faithful application of the law, and I think a court of appeals will not only affirm that but maybe even amplify that to even a greater extent.”

On July 13, Judge Analisa Torres ruled XRP was not a security when sold to the public on crypto exchanges but can be treated as a security when sold to institutional investors.

On July 21, the SEC used its ongoing case against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to air out its grievances with the ruling and hinted that it would appeal the split-decision ruling in the future.

“Respectfully, those portions of Ripple were wrongly decided, and this Court should not follow them,” SEC lawyers wrote, asserting that retail sales of XRP should have been deemed securities.

“SEC staff is considering the various available avenues for further review and intends to recommend that the SEC seek such review,” the lawyers added.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler also expressed his disappointment over the court’s decision on XRP adding the regulator would continue to assess the ruling.

In light of the ruling, Alderoty predicted if the SEC continues to claim that crypto assets themselves are securities it would begin to lose ongoing cases where the SEC attempts to make such claims.

“Our case and the decision rendered by our judge [Torres] will provide comfort to other judges that the SEC is just misguided.”

Despite his optimism, Alderoty warned the crypto sector is still a long way away from standing on solid regulatory ground. He condemned the SEC’s regulation by enforcement approach for causing crypto laws in the U.S. to fall well behind other jurisdictions.

“We still need a rational, comprehensive and understandable regulatory framework for crypto in the U.S.,” he said. “Because of the SEC’s refusal to faithfully apply the law […] the U.S. has been visibly falling behind the rest of the world.”

Currently, XRP is changing hands for around $0.70, up nearly 43% in the last month, according to Cointelegraph data.

Magazine: Crypto regulation — Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse: ‘The SEC created this mess’

July 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Brad Garlinghouse has lashed out at the SEC for its "absurd" comments on the Ripple Labs case.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has condemned the United States securities regulator over recent comments from its lawyers that hint at a possible appeal to its case against Ripple.

In a July 23 tweet, Garlinghouse slammed the regulator for its "regulation by enforcement" approach, arguing it has only served to hurt retail investors.

“The SEC created this mess by proclaiming it was the cop on the crypto beat when it had no legal jurisdiction,” wrote Garlinghouse in a July 23 tweet. “Where’s that gotten us? Consumers left holding the bag in bankruptcy court while the SEC holds press conferences,” he added.

An important topic has come up about protecting retail. The SEC created this mess by proclaiming it was the cop on the crypto beat when it had no legal jurisdiction Where’s that gotten us? Consumers left holding the bag in bankruptcy court while the SEC holds press conferences.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 22, 2023

Garlinghouse’s criticism came in response to the SEC’s latest round of comments concerning Ripple, where the regulator hinted at appealing the split-decision ruling against Ripple Labs.

On July 21, the SEC used its ongoing case against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to air out its concerns with the decision that retail sales of XRP (XRP) on exchanges didn’t constitute the legal definition of a security.

“Respectfully, those portions of Ripple were wrongly decided, and this Court should not follow them,” SEC lawyers wrote, asserting that these sales of XRP should have been deemed securities.

“SEC staff is considering the various available avenues for further review and intends to recommend that the SEC seek such review,” they added.

Speaking directly to the SEC’s comments, Garlinghouse said it was “absurd” to blame a judge for simply applying the law.

"We all know legislation — not more regulation by enforcement — is the only way forward to provide clear rules and protect retail,” he added.

Ripple Labs chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty chimed in with comments of his own, saying that trying to explain that XRP isn’t a security is like “explaining to a flat earther that the world is round.”

Talking to someone who still doesn’t understand that the token itself is not the security is like explaining to a flat earther that the world is round.
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) July 22, 2023

On July 17, SEC Chair Gary Gensler also expressed his disappointment over the court’s decision on the securitiestatus of XRP, adding that the regulator would continue to assess this opinion.

At the time of publication Ripple Labs' XRP is changing hands for $0.73, up nearly 50% in the last month, according to data from TradingView.

Magazine: Crypto regulation — Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

XRP becomes 4th largest crypto after Ripple’s partial win over SEC

July 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

XRP’s market capitalization surged by more than $21 billion in just three hours.

Ripple (XRP) has now become the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Ripple Labs’ partial victory over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 13.

Mere hours after the ruling, XRP market cap surged a whopping $21.2 billion to reach a new yearly high of $46.1 billion, pushing it up from the 7th position to beat out Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) and Binance’s BNB (BNB) token in the process.

At the time of writing, Ripple’s market capitalization has settled down to $42.5 billion.

*Ripple’s market capitalization grew 84% following its partial victory over the SEC. Source: CoinMarketCap*

The sudden surge for XRP came immediately after the District Court for the Southern District of New York declared that the “offer and sale of XRP on digital asset exchanges did not amount to offers and sales of investment contracts” in a case involving Ripple Labs and the SEC.

*XRP is now ranked as the 4th largest cryptocurrency. Source: CoinMarketCap*

Similarly, the price of XRP surged as much as 98% in the hours following the decision, reaching as high as $0.93 according to data from TradingView.

Related: Why is XRP price up today?

The apparent rush to buy up XRP even briefly caused U.S. crypto exchange Uphold to go down due to a “simply unprecedented” spike in volume.

“Yes, we went down but no platform could cope with the 50x spike in volume we saw today.”

Uphold is understood to have been one of the few larger U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges that had continued to offer sales of XRP, while others chose to delist.

Uphold is back up!

Yes, we went down but no platform could cope with the 50x spike in volume we saw today.

Uphold feels proud and vindicated to have been THE ONLY platform to stick with XRP through thick and thin over the past few years.

We’d love to give props to our law firm…
— Uphold (@UpholdInc) July 13, 2023

The new ruling has also sparked a fresh wave of re-listing activity from mainstay U.S. exchanges, with Coinbase, Kraken and iTrustCapital making the token available for trading on their respective platforms.

The Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange Gemini has hinted that it too will look to re-list XRP sometime in the near future.

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Ripple CEO: Hinman docs are ‘well worth the wait’

June 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Brad Garlinghouse

Brad Garlinghouse hinted that the eagerly awaited Hinman documents, which detail internal deliberations by Securities and Exchange Commission staff, could tip the court battle in Ripple’s favor.

With just one day until the Hinman documents are due to be unsealed, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggests the documents will be “well worth the wait."

In a June 12 Twitter reply to a question raised by crypto YouTuber Jungle Inc, Garlinghouse said that while he did not want to “overstep,” both he and Ripple's chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty see the documents as being worth the 18-month fight to get them unsealed.

Wish I could go in depth now, but we've waited this long (18+ months), I don't want to overstep… suffice it to say @s_alderoty and I believe they were well worth the wait.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) June 12, 2023

The Hinman documents refer to internal SEC messages concerning a 2018 speech given by former Securities and Exchange Director William Hinman. In the speech, Hinman said that while cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) may start off as securities, it’s possible for them to become something more akin to a commodity once they become sufficiently decentralized.

Many Ripple advocates believe that the imminent unsealing of the documents will prove instrumental in providing further insight into the legal status of Ripple’s native XRP (XRP) token.

The unsealing of the documents comes amid an extremely turbulent time for the crypto industry. June 13 will also see the federal court will hear the SEC’s motion to freeze the assets of Binance.US, following on from a spate of legal action against the exchange.

The next 36 hrs will be critical for crypto.

Today 5 pm: @Binance files its opposition to SEC's motion for order freezing assets of @BinanceUS

Tomorrow 2 pm: Hearing on SEC's motion to freeze assets

Tomorrow (sometime): Release of summary judgment exhibits (including Hinman…
— MetaLawMan (@MetaLawMan) June 12, 2023

The SEC first took legal action against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that the sale of its native XRP (XRP) token represented an unregistered securities offering. Since then, Ripple has denied XRP is a security, arguing it does not satisfy the Howey test.

While many top Ripple executives have long been predicting an imminent end to the rollercoaster lawsuit from the SEC, pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton recently claimed that presiding Judge Analisa Torres would almost certainly come to a final decision before Sept. 30 of this year.

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Ripple case: Pro-XRP lawyer tips outright SEC victory at ‘less than 3%’

June 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Attorney John Deaton says there’s a 25% chance Ripple will see an outright win against the Securities and Exchange Commission, while rumors fly of a possible Ripple IPO.

Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton has tipped less than a 3% chance for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to score an outright win against Ripple, as an end to the long-running lawsuit draws closer.

The CryptoLaw founder has been a vocal advocate for Ripple against the SEC, which filed a lawsuit against the company in December 2020, alleging that the sale of its XRP (XRP) token represented an unregistered securities offering.

In a June 3 episode of The Good Morning Crypto podcast, Deaton said he tipped a 25% chance that presiding U.S. District Judge Torres rules in outright favor of Ripple, and a 50% chance that Ripple claims victory by way of a “splitting the baby” ruling.

This refers to Judge Torress “drawing a line in the sand,” where she could potentially rule that XRP was offered as an unregistered security before 2018. However, in the wake of the Hinman documents — which refer to internal SEC messages related to a 2018 speech given by former SEC Director William Hinman — it’s possible that cryptocurrencies can transition from securities to commodities once they become sufficiently decentralized.

“I think that XRP itself is going to be deemed not a security and that I think that secondary market sales show comment. Even if [Judge Torres] does rule finding that Ripple violated the law, that doesn't apply to secondary market sales,” Deaton explained.

While Ripple executives including its CEO Brad Garlinghouse have long been predicting an imminent end to the rollercoaster lawsuit from SEC, Deaton highlighted that Judge Torres will most likely come to a final decision before Sept. 30 this year.

Deaton brought attention to what he called a “six-month list” that district judges must file to Congress. The list details all of the summary judgements that have been pending for longer than six months. It gets published on the last day of March and the last day of September.

“She [Judge Torres] has never been on this list. It’s like a public shame list that says ‘look I’m shitty at my job.’”

Additionally, Deaton also gave his predictions for the price of Ripple’s native XRP token following a positive ruling.

“I certainly believe that somewhere believe $2 and $10 is reasonable”

Speaking to Cointelegraph on May 22, Deaton said that the Ripple community should also keep a close eye on June 13, where investors will discover if XRP was actually discussed “between SEC staff prior to the Hinman speech.” This date is when the Hinman materials will most likely be unsealed and could have a drastic impact on the case.

There are also rumors circulating that Ripple may potentially IPO as a public company following the conclusion of the lawsuit.

NEW: In April, @Ripple hosted a private "road show" (a marketing event where a company and its underwriters meet with potential investors to generate interest in an IPO). I'm told it was attended by just about every reputable institutional investment firm on the Street. https://t.co/fyTzi6pr0W
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) June 1, 2023

According to a June 2 tweet from Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, Ripple hosted a “road show” where it met with underwriters and other investors to garner interest in a potential public offering.

Crypto Twitter Hall of Flame: Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton ‘10x more into BTC, 4x more into ETH

ripple sec