The SEC has appealed the final decision in the Ripple Labs case to the Second Circuit.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an appeal challenging the recent decision in its high-profile case against Ripple Labs, Inc.
The SEC's appeal was filed with the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on October 2, 2024, following a final decision issued in August by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The appeal follows a July 2023 ruling by District Judge Analisa Torres, who ruled that only a portion of Ripple’s XRP token sales violated U.S. securities laws. The ruling marked a partial victory for Ripple, which was celebrated by the wider cryptocurrency industry, as the judge ruled that secondary sales of XRP on public exchanges did not constitute securities transactions.
The SEC had until October 7, 2024, to decide whether to appeal the decision, which has drawn criticism from securities lawyers and federal judges. The decision is seen as a watershed moment for the crypto industry and provides legal support for arguments that, contrary to the SEC’s stance, certain digital assets like XRP may not fall under U.S. securities regulations.
The Ripple case has set a precedent for other cryptocurrencies facing similar legal challenges. Major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, which are currently being sued by the SEC for allegedly selling unregistered securities, have adopted legal strategies influenced by Ripple’s partial victory.
This appeal is not the SEC’s first attempt to overturn the ruling. The agency had previously filed an interlocutory appeal, a type of emergency appeal, before the summary judgment. Judge Torres denied that request, but allowed the SEC to file a new appeal after the final decision.
*This is not investment advice.
