The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it stayed silent on the status of XRP until slapping Ripple with a lawsuit late last year.
In a new court filing, the SEC says that while third parties inquired about the legality of the altcoin, it never publicly provided a clear opinion on the matter.
“The Commission admits that before the filing of the case certain third parties inquired about the legal status of XRP. However, the Commission did not state a view one way or the other in response.”
The SEC says this fact is “irrelevant because the Commission can prevail in this case even if this requested fact is true.”
Legal expert Jeremy Hogan, who is closely following the case, was first to dig up the new admission from the SEC in the latest round of courtroom filings.
Hogan, who says he bought XRP after the SEC launched its lawsuit, is now looking to see whether the SEC will have to declare once and for all whether it believes Ethereum (ETH) is a security.
“Ripple asks the question we have asked to Chair Gensler – ‘Is Ether a security?’ and they haven’t yet but I believe the SEC will be forced to answer.”
The SEC filed its lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, claiming it illegally sold the crypto asset as an unregistered security.
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