XRP Price Drops 12% Due to SEC Appeal on Ripple Lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a notice of appeal in its lawsuit against Ripple, seeking to overturn a previous ruling. The agency appealed the 2023 ruling made by Judge Torres, who ruled that the secondary sale of Ripple’s XRP token does not constitute the sale of securities.

The judge ruled that XRP did not meet all the criteria for the SEC’s Howey test to be classified as an investment contract. The filing was shared by defense attorney James Filan on X.

Ripple Strikes Back

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that the appeal is disappointing but not surprising. He added that it merely prolongs what is already a complete embarrassment for the regulatory agency.

– The court has already dismissed the SEC’s suggestion that Ripple acted recklessly, and there were no fraud charges and, of course, there were no victims or losses – said Alderoty.

He added that the SEC continues to engage in a litigation war against the industry, before stating that the company is evaluating whether to file a counterclaim.

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, also addressed the issue on X, stating that if SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and the regulator were rational, they would have long since dropped this case.

He promised to fight as long as necessary.

– While we will fight in court as long as we need to, let’s be clear: the status of XRP as a non-security is the law of the land today, and that does not change even in light of this erroneous appeal – wrote Garlinghouse.

Massachusetts Senate candidate John Deaton also commented on the event, stating that a candidate typically would not comment on an appeal, but he did anyway.

– However, I am not your typical candidate and have spent hundreds of pro bono hours and over $75,000 of my own money fighting against the SEC’s gross overreach and misconduct – stated Deaton.

– Nearly four years after the SEC sued Ripple and made those ridiculous claims, SEC attorneys apologized (in another case) for suggesting that the tokens themselves are securities. As the SEC pursues an anti-crypto agenda, it will now waste more taxpayer money in vain. Gary Gensler is a disgrace – he concluded.

XRP Drops

The news unsettled XRP holders who sold the seventh-largest cryptocurrency, resulting in a 12% drop.

XRP is currently at its lowest level in the last three weeks and is still trading down 84% from its all-time high in January 2018, despite recent ETF filings.