- The blockchain challenged the SEC’s appeal bid, citing a lack of legal grounds.
- Ripple also argued that an appeal would prolong the legal matter.
Ripple has fired back at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), contesting the regulator’s attempt to appeal a federal judge’s ruling from July. The blockchain-based digital payments network asserts that the SEC has not met the requirements to justify an appeal.
The SEC’s quest for an appeal revolved around a ruling by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York. She determined that Ripple’s sales of XRP did not violate securities law, a landmark ruling welcomed in the cryptocurrency landscape as a potential precedent in light of similar cases brought by the SEC.
According to a court filing on Friday, Ripple argued that July’s ruling did not present a ‘controlling question of law’. Ripple claims that the legal issues are not significant enough to warrant appellate court intervention.
Additionally, the other argument Ripple has put forth is that the SEC cannot demonstrate that different judges might disagree with Judge Torres’ ruling. Ripple points out that for an appeal to be approved, there must be a credible belief that alternative judges might reach a different conclusion.
Ripple’s Opposition to SEC’s Appeal
Ripple contends that the SEC’s appeal would not lead to a quicker resolution of the overall case. According to the company, one ground for approving an appeal is facilitating a speedier conclusion of the legal proceedings. If accepted, Ripple argues that an appeal would prolong the case, adding to its complexity and uncertainty.
The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC has been ongoing since December 2020, when the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen. The SEC accused them of raising over $1.3 billion through an unregistered security offering by selling the XRP. This legal clash prompted several cryptocurrency exchanges to delist the XRP token to mitigate potential legal risks.
The SEC’s actions in 2023 have extended beyond Ripple, targeting multiple cryptocurrency firms over alleged securities violations, including Binance and Coinbase. In a recent development, asset manager Grayscale achieved a court victory against the SEC, leading to a review of its application for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), Reuters reported.