Pro-XRP attorney Jeremy Hogan says if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wins a potential appeal in the Ripple case, the initial partial victory for the payments firm will likely stand.
Hogan says that, according to an SEC court filing, the regulator’s possible appeal in the Ripple case only seeks to overrule whether Ripple’s own sales on exchanges run afoul of securities law.
Says Hogan,
“AND… the SEC continues making questionable decisions, requesting an interlocutory appeal. Note that it is NOT appealing whether XRP itself is a security – just its losses on the programmatic and individual sales issues.”
Hogan predicts if the SEC wins on appeal, the crypto exchanges won’t de-list XRP but instead allow the trading of the token as long as they can verify that Ripple is not selling the asset.
“Two separate issues. XRP is not a security. Period. But if the SEC wins the appeal on sales, then Ripple couldn’t use exchanges to facilitate sales.
And the big Q: would exchanges keep XRP listed? I think yes, as long as they can verify the sales are not being made by Ripple.”
According to Hogan, SEC’s possible appeal is only targeting XRP sold on exchanges by Ripple and its founders.
“If the SEC wins on programmatic sales then those sales should have been registered but it doesn’t change the nature of XRP that you have and might sell to me? Only Ripple and the ‘founders’ can sell XRP as an investment contract…
All that the lawsuit is about is Ripple’s programmatic sales. The case has no effect on XRP that Ripple is not selling.”
He also believes that if the judge grants SEC’s appeal, Ripple will in turn appeal the issues it lost.
“If the Judges grant the request for an appeal, Ripple will appeal EVERYTHING that it lost on also.”
The SEC sued Ripple in late 2020 for allegedly selling XRP as an unregistered security.
Judge Analisa Torres ruled in July that Ripple’s automated, open-market sales of XRP are not securities transactions.
However, the judge sided with the SEC when ruling that Ripple’s direct sales of XRP to institutional participants did represent a securities offering.
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