Ripple’s XRP Token Status Clarified as SEC Appeals Court Decision
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to appeal the court decision in its case against Ripple Labs. While this move may raise questions about the status of Ripple’s XRP token, lawyers in the crypto space remain confident in Ripple’s case, emphasizing that XRP is not a security.
On August 9, the SEC sent a letter to Judge Analisa Torres, requesting a fresh look by an appellate court and asking for the case to be put on hold during the appeal process. However, the crypto community wondered if the SEC’s appeal aimed to challenge the non-security status of XRP. Crypto lawyers, including Jeremy Hogan, reassured the community that the two issues are separate.
Hogan explained that if the SEC wins the appeal regarding the sales, Ripple would not be able to facilitate sales using exchanges. Despite this, he believes that exchanges could still list XRP as long as the sales are not made directly by Ripple.
To shed more light on the SEC’s appeal, Cointelegraph reached out to Oscar Franklin Tan, a crypto lawyer and the chief legal officer of Enjin, a nonfungible token (NFT) platform. Tan explained that appeals usually take place after a case is finished, but the SEC’s appeal is interlocutory, meaning it wants to appeal while the case is still ongoing. When asked about the potential impact of this appeal on the case, Tan emphasized that momentum plays a crucial role.
While Hogan believes the appeal will not affect XRP’s security status, Tan believes the SEC is still aiming to overturn the July decision by Judge Torres, who ruled that XRP is not a security in certain instances.
Tan also mentioned that the SEC is currently referencing the conclusion in the Terraform Labs case to oppose Judge Torres’s decision in the XRP case. The SEC argues that a higher court should intervene to determine the conflicting conclusions. However, Tan believes that the SEC should allow the court process to proceed naturally.
In response to the news, Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, told the community to stay tuned and mentioned that Ripple will file its response with the court next week.
As the appeal process continues, it remains to be seen how this legal battle will shape the future of Ripple and the XRP token. Despite the SEC’s efforts to challenge its status, the consensus among lawyers in the crypto space appears to be that XRP is not a security. Nevertheless, the outcome of the appeal and its potential consequences are eagerly awaited by the crypto community.
