The US District Court in the Southern District of New York made a landmark judgment for the cryptocurrency industry yesterday (Thursday). After a lengthy legal battle, Judge Analisa Torres ruled partially in favor of Ripple Labs, saying XRP is not a security when sold to retail investors.
The ruling brought joy to the cryptocurrency industry when regulators pressed the thump on several big crypto brands. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleged XRP was an unregistered security, also dragged Coinbase, Binance, and several other crypto companies to court.
“This is pretty modern technology and we’re talking about laws, in some cases, that are nearly a hundred years old and pre date the internet”
Was able to discuss on
Ripple winning it’s SEC case and what it means for #crypto today on @foxbusiness. pic.twitter.com/wlyXj8q9YE— Brock Pierce (@brockpierce) July 13, 2023
Following Thursday’s preliminary judgment, demand for XRP tokens skyrocketed. The market price XRP soared about 65 percent since, compared to only a 2.3 percent and 6.4 percent rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum, respectively, in the last 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.
However, XRP is not the only coin to gain substantially quickly. Cardano’s ADA and Solana, which the SEC also labeled unregistered securities in separate lawsuits against exchanges, also jumped by about 20 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
The sudden surge in the XRP price also made it the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of over $40.6 billion, only behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether.
“Ripple’s win against the SEC is an immense victory for the cryptocurrency industry that will shape the future of crypto regulations,” said Alex Adelman, co-founder and CEO of Lolli.
“The landmark ruling establishes a powerful legal precedent that digital tokens sold on exchanges are not in and of themselves securities. The ruling is also the biggest challenge to the SEC’s authority over cryptocurrencies to date and could narrow the scope of the agency’s ability to regulate the industry.”
The most important part of this ruling:
“XRP, as a digital token, is not in and of itself a “contract, transaction[,] or scheme” that embodies the Howey requirements of an investment contract.”
This is a now a matter of law (not…