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Ripple, the blockchain company behind the XRP token, is celebrating a key victory over the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On July 13, Invezz was among the first to break the Ripple news that US Judge Analisa Torres had issued a summary ruling that effectively declared XRP was not a security token [Read the full story here].
Ripple’s legal chief on what XRP decision says about SEC
As highlighted, the ruling marks a pivotal moment for Ripple, which has battled the SEC’s allegations since December 2020. The company, whose CEO Brad Galinghouse said in May that the US had made crypto regulation as confusing as possible, has over the past two and half years maintained that the cryptocurrency did not constitute an investment contract as dictated by the Howey test.
Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, says the judge’s decision is indicative of the fact that the SEC has no monopoly over the crypto space. The agency does not have that “unbounded jurisdiction” that it has appeared to suggest, he opined.
“Judge’s decision affirms so much of what this industry is fighting for, and shows that the SEC does not have unbounded jurisdiction over crypto.”
On what the judge’s decision also meant, he noted:
“A huge win today – as a matter of law – XRP is not a security. Also a matter of law – sales on exchanges are not securities. Sales by executives are not securities. Other XRP distributions – to developers, to charities, to employees are not securities. The only thing the Court found constitutes an investment contract is past direct XRP sales to institutional clients. There will be further court proceedings only on these institutional sales per the Court’s order.”
Rep. Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, also commented on what today’s court’s decision means – which is that “a token is separate and distinct from an investment contract it may or may not be part of.” He says the law needs to make this clear.
XRP price skyrockets
XRP price skyrocketed after the news, with the cryptocurrency’s market cap jumping to over $41 billion and placing the token 4th on the list of largest cryptocurrencies.
At the time of writing, XRP was trading near $0.80, more than 76% up in the 24-hour timeframe. The intraday high for XRP was $0.94, its highest level since December 20, 2021.
The post SEC has no “unbounded jurisdiction over crypto”, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer says appeared first on Invezz.
