Ripple Labs Exec Dismisses Concerns around Potential SEC Appeal of Court Judgment
According to Alderoty, Ripple will handle any appeal the SEC decides to initiate even though he is confident in the judge’s previous ruling.
Ripple Labs chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty has dismissed worries surrounding the possible outcome of a potential SEC appeal against the blockchain company’s win. According to Alderoty, the SEC could magnify its loss if it continues dragging the case.
Alderoty spoke on a TechCrunch podcast on Wednesday, doubling down on the company’s assertion that XRP is not a security and its sale does not qualify as an investment contract. He also added that Ripple would again tackle any appeal the SEC brings.
“We think the judge got that right, and we think that was a faithful application of the law, and I think a court of appeals will not only affirm that but maybe even amplify that to even a greater extent.”
The SEC was clearly dissatisfied with the judge’s ruling and has made its disappointment known. As part of its case against Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon, the SEC noted that some parts of the court’s ruling in favor of Ripple were wrong. The Commission also added hinted at a possible appeal:
“Respectfully, those portions of Ripple were wrongly decided, and this court should not follow them. SEC staff is considering the various available avenues for further review and intends to recommend that the SEC seek such review.”
Earlier this month, at a National Press Club event in Washington DC, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler expressed disappointment at the ruling. Also hinting at a possible appeal, Gensler said about the judgment that they are “still looking at it and assessing that opinion.”
Alderoty Says SEC May Lose More Cases if Its Securities Assertion Continues
The Ripple exec also spoke on the possibility the SEC will maintain its position that XRP and several other cryptocurrencies are securities. According to him, such a move would not augur well for the Commission. Alderoty believes that doubling down on this claim would result in the SEC losing ongoing cases. He believes that the judge’s ruling in favor of Ripple “will provide comfort to other judges that the SEC is just misguided.”
In a ruling on July 13, Judge Analisa Torres of the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York ruled that XRP is not a security. The ruling also stated that putting the crypto up for sale did not violate securities laws. However, the verdict was only a partial victory because the judgment concluded that Ripple’s institutional sale of XRP was against the law. Following the ruling, XRP hit $0.7938, climbing over 70% within 24 hours.
Although Alderoty believes the ruling is a step in the right direction, he warned that the crypto sector is still not out of muddy regulatory waters. According to him, the US is “falling behind the rest of the world” because the SEC has not properly applied the law and there is no comprehensive regulatory crypto framework.
Recently, some lawmakers criticized the SEC for using enforcement action against the crypto industry instead of creating a proper framework for legal clarity.
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Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
