SEC lawsuit over whether XRP is a security will go to trial
A contentious lawsuit between the Securities and Exchange Commission will go to trial after a federal judge declined to conclusively resolve the matter.
Southern District Court of New York Judge Analisa Torres’s decision marks a continuation in a years long dispute between Ripple and the SEC.
At the heart of that dispute is whether the company’s native XRP token is an unregistered security, and the sale of it, which has banked the company billions, is unlawful. The agency accused Ripple in 2020 of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP and also sued CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Christian Larsen. XRP is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a total market value of over $27 billion.
Torres partially granted summary judgment motions from both sides, leaving the case open until a jury can weigh in at trial or a settlement is reached.
“For the foregoing reasons, the SEC’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED as to the Institutional Sales, and otherwise DENIED,” the judge ordered on Thursday. “Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED as to the Programmatic Sales, the Other Distributions, and Larsen’s and Garlinghouse’s sales, and DENIED as to the Institutional Sales.”
The judge will set a trial date in a separate order.
“We said in Dec 2020 that we were on the right side of the law, and will be on the right side of history,” Garlinghouse wrote in a tweet. “Thankful to everyone who helped us get to today’s decision – one that is for all crypto innovation in the US. More to come.”
© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Sarah Wynn
