In a show of unyielding resolve, Monica Long, the President of Ripple Labs (XRP), has declared that the company is prepared to battle it out against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in their ongoing lawsuit.
This legal tussle isn’t an isolated incident, as other major players in the crypto sphere like Binance and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) are also waging their own wars against what they perceive as regulation by enforcement.
These companies are rallying for more precise and clear-cut regulations and guidelines concerning the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency. The collective aim is to navigate the complex digital currency landscape with clarity and confidence, rather than being subjected to ambiguous regulatory actions.
In an interview with CNBC, Long expressed the company’s unwavering commitment to their ongoing legal battle with the SEC.
“We are planning to continue to fight the case all the way through,” Long told the business news channel on Monday.
The lawsuit, U.S. SEC vs. Ripple Labs, has been a protracted affair, extending over the span of almost three years. The lawsuit was initiated under the tenure of then-SEC Chair Jay Clayton, who opted to proceed with the charges, implicating not just Ripple Labs, but also roping in CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen.
Judge Torres’ July verdict offered a mixed bag for Ripple and its executives. She ruled that while the programmatic sales of XRP do not constitute a security, the institutional sales, like those made to sophisticated hedge funds, can be classified as investment contracts.
Crucially, she clarified that XRP, in its essence, does not qualify as a security. This ruling has added a new layer of complexity to the ongoing discourse surrounding the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.
The SEC is seeking an ‘interlocutory appeal’ on the ruling, a legal term referring to an appeal of a court decision made before the entire case has been fully resolved. This move stems from their belief that the ruling contradicts the ‘Howey Test’, a standard used to determine whether certain transactions qualify as ‘investment contracts’. If so, they would fall under the jurisdiction of securities law.
Despite the SEC’s stance, numerous federal judges have criticized the Commission’s approach as arbitrary, inconsistent, and even hypocritical.
Ripple’s President maintains that the ruling has brought some much-needed clarity to the cryptocurrency industry, enabling Ripple to expand its operations globally.
As Ripple gears up for its 2024 trial, it remains staunchly committed to highlighting what it views as the SEC’s hypocrisy.
“We also got clarity in that lawsuit. And the judge’s order in that case said very clearly XRP in and of itself is not a security, which kind of opens the doors to us to really expand our business — not just in the U.S. but even more globally,” said Long.
In a recent announcement, Ripple disclosed its plans to acquire Fortress Trust, a startup specializing in Web3 fintech infrastructure. The terms of the deal, including the purchase price, remain undisclosed. This acquisition comes on the heels of Ripple’s earlier purchase of Metaco, a Swiss-based firm offering crypto custody services, back in May.
XRP Price Action
As of the time of writing, XRP is changing hands at around $0.482, reflecting a slight daily uptick of about 0.60%. This digital currency, boasting a market cap of $25 billion, has seen some volatility over the past day, with its value swinging between $0.4751 and $0.4841.
It’s important to highlight that XRP has slipped below the phycological $0.50 mark, recording a nearly 4% drop over the past week.
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