Ripple Pushes Back: Cross-Appeal Notice Filed Against SEC

In a significant development in the ongoing litigation between Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple announced the filing of a cross-appeal against the regulator. 

This move follows the SEC’s recent appeal of a 2023 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres, which determined that the XRP token, sold by Ripple on public exchanges, does not qualify as a security under current laws.

Alderoty Highlights SEC’s Struggles And Cross-Appeal Rationale

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to explain the company’s position. He emphasized that the SEC lost on all the critical points in the case, which is why they are appealing. Alderoty said: 

Today, Ripple filed a cross-appeal to ensure nothing’s left  on the table, including the argument that there can’t be an “investment contract” without there being essential rights and obligations found in a contract.

The company’s legal officer also noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission is not appealing the ruling that XRP itself is not a security, highlighting the agency’s recognition of the law in this regard.

Alderoty further stated that the regulator has struggled in its legal battles against Ripple. He highlighted last year’s attempt to appeal earlier rulings that deemed Ripple’s XRP sales on exchanges, as well as distributions to employees and developers, as non-securities. 

Alderoty expressed confidence that the SEC would likely pursue these issues again but believed they would ultimately fail once more. 

‘They Should Accept Their Loss And Move On’

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, also weighed in on the situation, criticizing the SEC for its continued legal pursuit of the company. He stated: 

As I said earlier this month, if Gensler and the SEC cared about the rule of law, they would accept their loss and move on. But they are not interested in faithfully applying the law or in providing clarity to industry players in the US. Under Chair Gensler, the agency is only interested in creating havoc – US innovation and technology be damned.

On Thursday, the CEO also disclosed that they intend to “seal the SEC’s fate” with their latest move in the case, and that they intend to put an end to the SEC’s regulation by enforcement agenda. 

Garlinghouse had previously accused the SEC of creating chaos in the industry rather than providing clarity for market participants, asserting that the agency is more focused on enforcement than on fostering innovation.

In his remarks, Garlinghouse characterized the SEC’s approach as “irrational,” arguing that the regulator’s actions have undermined its credibility while harming the very investors it aims to protect.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5272, recording a slight loss of 0.6% in the 24-hour time frame, in contrast to the largest cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum, which fell by over 2% in the same period.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com