The Ruling on XRP Sales: A Game-Changer for the Crypto Industry?
According to Andrew Harris of Pantera Capital, the recent ruling by Judge Analisa Torres could have significant implications for the crypto industry. The ruling examined four types of XRP token sales by Ripple and found that the majority of them were not securities. Here are the key points:
- Only the Institutional Sales of XRP were considered unregistered investment contracts, as they were made to institutional investors who expected to profit from Ripple’s efforts.
- The Programmatic Sales, Other Distributions, and CEO/CLO Sales were not deemed investment contracts, as they did not involve investment of money or an expectation of profit based on Ripple’s efforts.
- The ruling could potentially slow down the SEC’s enforcement actions against crypto issuers and trading platforms.
- It may pave the way for the resumption of XRP trading on U.S. crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini.
- The SEC has requested permission to appeal the ruling, indicating that the legal battle is not over.
In summary, this ruling marks the SEC’s first-ever loss regarding the security status of a crypto asset and could influence other ongoing and future cases. While it provides temporary relief for the U.S. crypto industry, the appeal process may still impact the outcome. The ruling sets a precedent that may slow down the SEC’s enforcement efforts and could benefit other crypto exchanges under investigation or sued by the SEC.