Ripple Chances To Win Against SEC At US Supreme Court

Ripple's XRP crypto asset. (Photo; Doc. Block-builders)

JAKARTA - Ripple Labs, a decentralized payment company that uses XRP tokens, has received new hopes of winning a lawsuit filed by regulators, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Ripple's Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Stuart Alderoty, provides hints that Ripple has a great opportunity to win this case if it is brought to the US Supreme Court. This follows a series of decisions that have benefited Ripple in the trial that took place since late last year.

The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, alleging that Ripple sold XRP as an unlisted securities offering worth more than $1.3 billion. The SEC also accused two Ripple executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, of assisting and conspiring in the breach. Ripple denies the SEC's accusations and claims that XRP is not a security, but a digital asset used as a cross-border payment tool aka a cross-border payment.

This case is important for the crypto industry, because it determines the legal status of XRP and has the potential to influence the legal status of other crypto assets. If Ripple is found guilty, then XRP will be considered a security and must comply with stricter regulations. It will also have an impact on the liquidity and market value of XRP, which is currently the fifth largest cryptocurrency in the world with a market capitalization of around 32 billion US dollars (Rp497.2 trillion).

Di sisi lain, Ripple mendapat dukungan dari beberapa pihak, termasuk mantan pejabat SEC, anggota Kongres AS, dan komunitas kripto. Ripple juga mendapat beberapa kemenangan dalam persidangan, seperti mendapatkan akses ke dokumen internal SEC yang relevan dengan kasus ini, dan menolak permintaan SEC untuk mengungkapkan data keuangan pribadi para eksekutif Ripple.

In addition, Ripple also received a partial verdict from Federal Justice Analysis Torres, which differentiated Ripple's direct sales to financial institutions and other types of XRP sales.

Judge Torres' decision states that XRP sales in the secondary market and Ripple's programmed sales cannot be classified as securities sales. This ruling briefly affected the price of XRP, which rose to IDR 11,000 per coin before falling back.

In a recent social media post, Stuart Alderoty implies that Ripple has a great chance of winning if this case is brought to the US Supreme Court. He refers to the Supreme Court's ruling pattern that has tended to fight the SEC in recent years.

This shows that Ripple has strong legal arguments to defend its position. This statement is also in line with Garlinghouse's public statement, which expressed its readiness to escalate legal battles to the Supreme Court, as he stated in an interview at DC Fintech Week 2023.

Meanwhile, Ripple continues to be active in the crypto market, despite facing a lawsuit from the SEC. Recently, Whale Alert reported a large transaction involving the transfer of 18.5 million XRP to Bitso, Mexico's largest crypto exchange.

This transaction comes from a wallet linked to Ripple, showing a close relationship between the two entities. Ripple has been investing in Bitso since 2019, making Bitso the main platform for Ripple payment services, formerly known as On-Demand Liquidity (ODL).

This transaction, tracked by the Bithomp XRP analytic platform, signals Ripple's active involvement in the crypto market, despite continued legal battles with the SEC. This highlights Ripple's commitment to partners and its role in the crypto ecosystem more broadly.