- Ripple has 14 days to file a cross-appeal in response to the SEC’s decision to challenge the court ruling.
- Ripple’s CEO criticizes the SEC’s legal battle as irrational, emphasizing that XRP’s non-security status remains unchanged.
In the most recent update on Ripple’s protracted legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company now has 14 days to submit a counter-appeal against a court decision on XRP sales to institutional investors, according to crypto influencer Marty Party.
Following a district court ruling in July 2023 that the selling of XRP on a public exchange did not fit the legal definition of a security, the SEC decided to appeal, therefore significantly benefiting Ripple. SEC spokesperson stated:
“We believe that the district court decision in the Ripple matter conflicts with decades of Supreme Court precedent and securities laws and look forward to making our case to the Second Circuit.”
Ripple Response to the SEC’s Partial Victory and Future Legal Strategy
In the same instance, though, the SEC partially triumphed when Ripple was fined $125 million for selling XRP to institutional investors. Ripple is still debating appealing the decision even though the fine is much less than the initial $2 billion demand of the SEC.
Should Ripple choose to act, the appeal of the SEC as well as Ripple’s counter-appeal would be merged under one case in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Though Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer of Ripple, stated the SEC’s action was not shocking, it nonetheless disappointed him. According to him, the SEC’s ruling resembled more of a “litigation war” than a means of legally enforceability.
Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of XRP, also attacked the SEC’s action, saying that courts have confirmed XRP’s non-securities on public markets; therefore, an appeal by the SEC will not alter that. Ripple is ready to fight in court for as long as it takes to prove its case, Garlinghouse further said.
Extended Legal Proceedings Leave Uncertainty for the Crypto Sector
The appeal procedure is supposed to be drawn out, and a ruling not expected until early 2026. First filings from the SEC and Ripple are scheduled to start in late 2024 or early 2025; oral arguments in the second half of 2025 will come after. As authorities keep pressuring the crypto sector overall, XRP and Ripple’s destiny might remain unknown for the next few years.
Ripple stays concentrated on other initiatives within the legal procedures, including the release of its RLUSD stablecoin and possible introduction of an XRP-based ETF. This declaration is probably made at Ripple’s forthcoming annual Swell event, which will heighten the already existing angst among the crypto community awaiting clarity on the matter.
According to our prior report, the SEC formally challenged Judge Analisa Torres’s decision on programmatic XRP sales for Ripple. Brad Garlinghouse claimed that the SEC’s ruling was “irrational” and not meant to safeguard investors; rather, it was an action geared to prolong the continuous legal strife.
