U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres recently dismissed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request for an interlocutory appeal against Ripple Labs, the issuer of the XRP token. Judge Torres stated that the SEC failed to demonstrate substantial grounds for differences of opinion on the legal questions involved, thereby denying the motion.
This follows her earlier ruling in July, which found that some of Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP were unregistered securities offerings in violation of federal law. However, she also clarified that other XRP distributions by Ripple did not qualify as securities transactions. The recent court filing that denied the SEC’s appeal stated:
The SEC’s motion for certification of interlocutory appeal is DENIED, and the SEC’s request for a stay is DENIED as moot. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 892.
The SEC had quickly sought to appeal the latter part of Torres’ July order, arguing that it set a dangerous precedent for the application of securities laws to crypto assets. The regulator initiated its lawsuit against Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen in December 2020. The lawsuit alleged that Ripple violated investor-protection laws by selling over $1.3 billion worth of XRP since 2013 without proper registration.
The case is now set to proceed to trial, scheduled for April 2024. The market reacted positively to the news, with XRP’s price surging nearly 6%, according to Coingecko data. This marks a significant day for Ripple, which has been embroiled in legal complexities for several years. While the SEC has yet to comment on the latest court ruling, the focus now shifts to the trial set for next year.
In a separate development, Ripple has achieved another milestone by securing a full Major Payment Institution license for digital payment token services in Singapore. The development was confirmed by Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who took to social media to express his enthusiasm, stating:
Incredibly proud of team @Ripple – just 4(!) months after we received our in-principle approval from @MAS_sg, we’ve now secured the full Major Payment Institution license for digital payment token services in Singapore. https://t.co/AH1sDUG4UE
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 4, 2023
This latest accomplishment further cements Ripple’s position in the financial technology sector. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the license was granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), a significant regulatory body in the Asia Pacific region. This is especially relevant for Ripple, as over 90% of its business operations are conducted outside the United States, with a focus on the Asia Pacific market.
