tl;dr
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a last-minute appeal in its legal battle with Ripple Labs, challenging parts of a summary judgment from July 2023. The appeal seeks to reverse the ruling that Ripple's sales of XRP to retail investors did not violate securities laws. While the ap...
U.S. SEC files last-minute appeal in Ripple case, challenging key aspects of the U.S. District Judge's ruling favoring Ripple and focusing on XRP sales and securities violations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a last-minute appeal in its legal battle with Ripple Labs, challenging parts of a summary judgment from July 2023. The appeal seeks to reverse the ruling that Ripple's sales of XRP to retail investors did not violate securities laws. While the appeal does not contest the decision that XRP sales to retail investors are not securities, it targets other aspects of the ruling, including sales on digital platforms and non-cash transactions. The appeal will allow the appellate court to reconsider the interpretation of securities laws in relation to XRP sales. Ripple's victory regarding XRP's retail sales remains intact and is not part of the appeal.
The SEC's filing of the appeal has led to social media criticism over a potential missed deadline for filing the necessary appellate form. Ripple's chief legal officer has affirmed that the court's ruling that "XRP is not a security" is not being appealed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a last-minute appeal in its ongoing legal sparring with Ripple Labs, seeking to reverse parts of a summary judgment delivered by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres more than a year ago. Torres’ July 2023 ruling partially favored Ripple by concluding that the company’s sales of XRP to retail investors on digital asset platforms did not violate U.S. securities laws.
The court found that these transactions did not meet the legal criteria for an investment contract, dealing a blow to the SEC’s broader efforts to regulate cryptocurrency sales under existing securities laws. Filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit late Thursday, the SEC does not contest the decision that XRP sales to retail investors through exchanges are not securities. Instead, the agency is focusing its challenge on other key aspects of the ruling. The appeal targets the court's decision that Ripple's offers and sales of XRP on digital asset trading platforms, as well as personal sales by Ripple executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen, did not constitute securities violations.
The agency is also contesting the ruling that Ripple's distributions of XRP in exchange for non-cash consideration were not in breach of securities laws. Ripple's institutional sales of XRP to large investors were previously found to have violated securities laws by the U.S. Southern District Court, which imposed a $125 million civil penalty on the San Francisco-based firm. The SEC's appeal, which will be reviewed de novo, will allow the appellate court to reconsider the lower court’s interpretation of securities laws in relation to XRP sales on digital platforms and non-cash transactions.
Ripple’s victory regarding XRP's retail sales, however, remains intact and is not part of the appeal. While it was widely anticipated that the SEC would file its notice of appeal on October 2, users have taken to social media to decry what they view as the agency missing a 14-day window for filing its Form C. A Form C, in the context of appellate court procedures, is used by the appellant—in this case, the SEC—to provide basic information about the appeal and the lower court's decision.
Filing is mandatory and must be done within 14 days of filing the notice of appeal, according to the form’s own legalese. It's a date that some have accused the agency of missing, as the document is dated October 16, while the Second Circuit’s docket shows a filing for October 17. Decrypt attempted to contact the SEC on that point but has so far received no response. A spokesperson for Ripple did not answer questions relating to the deadline window, instead pointing Decrypt to a social media post by the firm’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty.
“No surprises here — once again, it’s been made clear. The Court’s ruling that “XRP is not a security” is NOT being appealed. That decision stands as the law of the land,” Alderoty tweeted Thursday. “Stay tuned for Ripple’s Form C to be filed next week,” the executive added. DAILY DEBRIEF NEWSLETTER Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more. Your Email Get it! Get it!
More about United States Steel Corporation
United States Steel Corporation produces and sells tubular and flat rolled steel products primarily in North America and Europe. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Industry: Manufacturing
Sub-Industry: Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling Mills (Coke Ovens)
NAICS: 8541808000
Current Stock Price: $16.16
Price Change: $0.2 ( 2.35%)
52-Week Range: $7.31 - $26.34
Market Cap: $3.4 Billion
Volume: 16,853,000
P/E Ratio: 41.87
EPS: -$0.617
Dividend Yield: -0.178%
More about Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp
Company: Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp, Tanzanian Gold Corporation
Business: Engaged in the exploration and development of mineral property interests in the United Republic of Tanzania.
Location: Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Industry: Energy & Transportation
Focus: Gold and Silver Ores
Market Cap: 110,459,000
Dividend Yield: None
EPS: None
Shares Outstanding: 0
Beta: 0.127
Volatility: -0.0306
Average Volume: 36,723,000
Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio: 1.38
Forward Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio: 2.549
Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio: 0.625