Attorney John Deaton, the founder of CryptoLaw, emphasized the weight of the impending decision from Judge Analisa Torres in the ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vs. Ripple lawsuit on Twitter.
John E Deaton shared the effect of Judge Torres’ decision in a Twitter thread:
Judge Torres’ decision gets potentially more as each day passes. If it’s bad for XRP (notice I said XRP and not Ripple), then status quo with more political momentum to Gensler, Warren, Brad Sherman’s anti-crypto campaign. But if it’s great for XRP then great news for other…
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) July 1, 2023
Deaton was responding to a tweet by a prominent cryptocurrency YouTuber Scott Melker, also known as the ‘Wolf of All Streets.’ Melker warned that if Americans fail to resist the SEC’s aggressive regulatory reach, they might be left with only four cryptocurrencies to trade: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on exchanges operated by Wall Street.
Melker singled out these four digital currencies because they have been previously classified as commodities by SEC Chair Gary Gensler, while he labeled other tokens as securities. The YouTuber further stated that these are the only cryptocurrencies currently traded on the EDX exchange, a newly established crypto trading platform backed by Wall Street giants like Fidelity Digital Investments, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities.
Responding to this, Deaton highlighted the importance of Judge Torres’ decision in the Ripple lawsuit. He noted that each passing day heightens the potential significance of the ruling. An adverse ruling against Ripple’s XRP could embolden critics of cryptocurrencies, including Gensler, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, and Representative Brad Sherman.
However, Deaton argued that a favorable ruling for XRP could have massive implications for the entire crypto market. Such a decision would benefit Ripple and have far-reaching effects on other crypto assets.
Amidst these developments, the SEC claims jurisdiction over the entire crypto market. Earlier reports stated that Gensler had asserted all crypto assets, barring Bitcoin, are securities. This has led the SEC to a broad offensive against crypto-related businesses, accusing them of violating securities laws.
Last month, the SEC leveled charges against leading crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance, alleging that they facilitated trading unregistered securities, including tokens like ADA, SOL, MATIC, and ALGO.
The SEC’s claim that XRP is a security has implications for the coin’s secondary market transactions. Judge Torres is expected to issue a ruling soon on whether these secondary market sales constitute securities. This ruling could set a significant precedent for the cryptocurrency market’s future.
