In a legal battle of close to three years, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received the go-ahead from US District Judge, Analisa Torres, to file for an interlocutory appeal against a ruling in the Ripple Labs case. This means a higher court can repeal sections of a 13 July ruling, which determined that Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency sales only ruffled investor-protection feathers occasionally, and not all of the time.
SEC gets go-ahead to lodge partial appeal in Ripple case
This decision essentially hobbled the SEC’s blanket control over cryptocurrency markets, which many believe need the same regulations as others, such as stocks and forex. The July ruling found that Ripple did not transgress securities laws when it made XRP, its signature cryptocurrency, available on exchanges.
On Thursday, Judge Torres gave the SEC until Friday to file an interlocutory appeal. The regulator indicated it planned to file this appeal last week, after initial reports that it would do so in July. Traders and crypto platforms alike are closely following this case to see whether crypto sales should be registered with the SEC or not as it would impact the niche as a whole.
Don’t miss out the latest news, subscribe to LeapRate’s newsletter
Bill Hughes Source: The Federalist Society
Experts do not foresee that this process will halt the proceedings of the rest of the case. However, should the SEC get the green light for the appeal, it may stay the case. Bill Hughes, ConsenSys Senior Counsel and Director of Global Regulatory Matters, commented:
The legal standard is a difficult one to satisfy, and the particulars of this case also do not help SEC’s argument in favour of appeal … And even if Judge Torres does grant their motion, they then have another steep mountain to climb – getting the Second Circuit’s approval to file an appeal.
