In
the legal battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and
Ripple, a federal judge has rejected the SEC’s attempt to appeal its earlier
loss against the crypto company associated with the XRP token.
The
decision was handed down by District Judge Analisa Torres. It has both
immediate and future implications for the case and the cryptocurrency industry
as a whole.
Continuation
of Legal Proceedings
In
her brief ruling issued on Tuesday, Judge Torres stated that the SEC had not
met its burden under the law to demonstrate that there were controlling
questions of law or substantial grounds for differences of opinion that
warranted an appeal. This decision, while a setback for the SEC, does not mark
the end of the legal proceedings.
Judge
Torres has scheduled an April 2024 trial date to address other unresolved issues
in the case. That indicates there are still matters that require resolution.
The SEC retains the option to attempt an appeal of the overall case in the
future.
The @SECGov’s motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal in the @Ripple case has been DENIED. 👇🏼
“…the SEC’s motion for certification of interlocutory appeal is DENIED, and the SEC’s request for a stay is DENIED as moot.”
Full doc here: https://t.co/VzhzrleM85 https://t.co/eWhv6VtNtW pic.twitter.com/krt6uEaU8e
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) October 3, 2023
Distinction in XRP Sales to
Institutional and Retail Investors
The legal dispute stems from the judge’s
previous ruling in July, in which she determined that while Ripple had violated
federal securities laws by selling XRP to institutional investors directly.
However, it did not do so by making XRP available to retail
customers through programmatic sales to exchanges. This ruling introduced a
level of uncertainty about the extent to which securities regulators could
effectively oversee the cryptocurrency industry.
Following
the July ruling, the SEC
had announced its intention to file an interlocutory appeal and sought to halt
any further decision-making while pursuing an appeal court review of Judge
Torres’ ruling.
The
rejection of the SEC’s bid to appeal comes after XRP’s price rallied approximately
5% on the news. It highlights the market’s interest in the ongoing legal
proceedings.
As
of now, spokespeople for both the SEC and Ripple have not responded to requests
for comment. It leaves the cryptocurrency
community and stakeholders eagerly awaiting further developments in…
