Ripple's legal team has responded to the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) appeal by asserting that the regulator fails to meet the criteria for an appeal. In a filing made on September 1 with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ripple's attorneys argued that the SEC's grounds for appeal are primarily based on dissatisfaction expressed by retail investors. This stems from the judge's ruling that the XRP token was not considered a security. Ripple's legal team stated that there were no "exceptional circumstances required for an interlocutory appeal" in this case. They called on the judge to deny any appeal or request for a stay.
Back in August, the SEC appealed and secured a stay following a July court decision. In that ruling, Judge Analisa Torres had largely deemed XRP not to be a security under the SEC's guidelines. The SEC had argued that there was a "significant difference of opinion" regarding the applicable laws.
The SEC initially filed a lawsuit against Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen in December 2020. This legal action prompted many cryptocurrency exchanges to delist XRP tokens to avoid potential legal entanglements. However, following Judge Torres' ruling, numerous companies indicated their intent to relist the token or explore this possibility in the future.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO, expressed his regret that members of the US cryptocurrency community had to resort to legal proceedings to demonstrate that the SEC's actions were misguided. He made this statement in a post on August 29. Furthermore, the SEC is targeting s everal cryptocurrency firms in 2023 for alleged securities violations, including major platforms like Binance and Coinbase. Notably, on August 29, asset manager Grayscale emerged victorious in a court case against the SEC after appealing for the review of its spot Bitcoin ETF application.
The civil lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple is ongoing, with Judge Torres proposing a jury trial beginning in the second quarter of 2024.
