editorial
Ripple, a US-based cryptocurrency firm, has announced its ongoing commitment to fighting the lawsuit brought against it by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This legal battle exemplifies the challenges facing digital asset companies in the US, as the SEC has classified all digital assets as securities, except for Bitcoin.
Monica Long, Ripple’s president, confirmed in a statement to CNBC that they have no intention of backing down: “We plan to continue to fight the case all the way through.”
The lawsuit has been ongoing for nearly three years and has caused significant uncertainty in the crypto industry. Last year, the SEC accused Ripple and its co-founders of violating securities laws by selling $1.3 billion worth of their native cryptocurrency, XRP, without proper registration. Notably, many companies have criticized the SEC for neglecting to review their registration requests.
Ripple has staunchly denied these allegations, asserting that XRP does not constitute a security but rather a commodity.
In July of this year, a crucial court ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres determined that XRP is not necessarily a security according to existing regulatory frameworks.
Long expressed her confidence in the ruling: “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.”
However, following Judge Torres’s ruling, the SEC announced its plans to appeal.
Soon after, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, also from the Southern District of New York, rejected the approach taken by another judge in a similar case.
To ensure compliance, Ripple has worked closely with regulators and policymakers, obtaining in-principle approval in June from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide cryptocurrency services.
Long emphasized the company’s commitment to adhering to regulatory requirements: “We are very engaged with regulators, policymakers, and it’s just a part of our DNA.” However, for Ripple and other crypto companies, clarity on the rules is essential, something that Congress and the SEC have failed to provide thus far.
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