Ripple Labs is currently facing a renewed challenge as the SEC has filed an appeal against a recent court ruling. On October 2, 2024, the SEC took a significant step in its ongoing legal battle with Ripple by filing an appeal. This marks a new phase in the lengthy and contentious dispute between the SEC and the cryptocurrency firm.
The recent court decision, delivered by Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not violate securities laws, it also found that some direct sales to institutional investors, totaling $728 million, were indeed unregistered securities sales. This ruling has been viewed as a victory for Ripple, suggesting that tokens may not be classified as securities when sold on open markets.
Despite this partial win, the SEC is contesting the interpretation of the ruling, particularly regarding XRP’s classification. The agency argues that the ruling undermines established legal precedents and violated the Howey test, which determines whether a financial transaction constitutes an investment contract.
This ruling comes at a critical time, coinciding with Bitwise’s submission of an initial registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), indicating its intent to launch an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). Experts, including Alex Thorn from Galaxy Digital, have weighed in on the likelihood of the ETF’s success. Thorn stated that the chances of this ETF filing succeeding “drop to near zero if they appeal.”
Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst supported Thorn’s view, agreeing that the chances are “near zero if Harris wins.” However, they noted that “a Trump victory could change the landscape, making anything possible in this area.” Thorn further added that if the SEC does appeal but Harris wins, there’s a possibility that “the SEC could eventually withdraw the appeal.”
