Although blockchain company Ripple achieved a significant victory in its legal battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), certain questions still linger. These pertain to the specifics of the court ruling and the perspective of the primary securities regulatory body.
Attorneys Jeremy Hogan and Stuart Alderoty, who played significant roles in the case, have responded to remarks suggesting that the SEC didn't consider a token as a security. Alderoty, in particular, refuted these claims, sharing the SEC's statements from the complaint against Ripple as evidence of their contradicting beliefs. This was conveyed through a social media post on August 5.
To those saying the SEC doesn't think a token itself is a security... this is false. See the SEC's own words in the complaint against us (which the Judge ultimately rejected) pic.twitter.com/RIoAbs1pM5
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) August 5, 2023
August 6 saw Hogan sharing a segment of the transcript from the 2021 hearing, wherein "the SEC lawyer argues that XRP remains a security, but that there’s an exemption for individuals to sell," indicating that "the SEC believes that XRP itself is a security. And Judge Torres repudiated that belief in her ruling."
The SEC absolutely believes that XRP itself is a security. And Judge Torres clearly repudiated that belief in her ruling.
— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) August 6, 2023
Here's the transcript from the 2021 hearing. The SEC lawyer argues that XRP remains a security, but that there's an exemption for individuals to sell. https://t.co/cd3KQz6dVn pic.twitter.com/gNR8vOw567
Simultaneously, attorney John E. Deaton, who has been involved as an amicus curiae throughout the legal proceedings, underscored the contrasts between the Ripple case and the troubled Terra (LUNA) ecosystem. Notably, Deaton emphasized variations like the cases, stages of litigation, facts presented, crypto tokens involved, defendants implicated, and the eventual consequences.
Dave does an outstanding job here summarizing distinctions between the two rulings, identifying the specific disagreement between the two judges, but importantly placing into context the circumstances surrounding that disagreement.
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 6, 2023
Let me add that Judge Torres specifically… https://t.co/kwgobzd9oC pic.twitter.com/4C7lLSvf57
Earlier, insights from prominent Web3 attorney Charles Slamowitz on the Ripple case were highlighted, suggesting that the lawsuit's lasting impact on the crypto landscape might carry a negative outcome, particularly in the ongoing quest for regulatory clarity. He said:
In the wake of SEC v. Ripple both broadening and ensconcing Howey as the gold subjective securities crypto standard in the US jurisprudence toolkit, the Court bright-lined institutional investment contracts necessitating immediate adjustments. Also crucially, the Court further standardised aiding and abetting inquiries for individually named crypto execs.
In the meantime, the XRP token, which holds a pivotal role in the legal dispute, was trading at $0.613256 at the time of reporting. This marks a 3.21% decrease within the day and a 13.17% loss over the past week. However, it retains a monthly gain of 31.27%, as indicated by data on August 7th.
