Ripple Challenges SEC’s Ruling with Form C Appeal
In a surprising countermove, Ripple has filed a form C appeal against the US Securities Exchange Commission SEC. This filing follows a resolution by Ripple executives to “leave nothing on the table” during their defense. An X post on October 25 by Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, confirmed the filing, throwing more light on the matter and calling out SEC’s “broader strategy” of trying to “create distraction and confusion for Ripple and the industry.” Today, Ripple filed a Form C – listing the issues we plan to raise on our cross appeal. A few things to keep in mind as we move forward: The case is not about whether XRP, in and of itself, is a security. XRP is uniquely situated as having clarity (alongside BTC) in not being… https://t.co/AmFocAnbPx — Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) October 25, 2024 For context, in August, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York imposed a $125 million fine on Ripple. The penalty fee followed institutional XRP sales allegations after a rule that the cross-border payment firm constituted securities transactions. In addition, the above ruling stood because the SEC asserted that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP qualified as securities transactions under the Howey test (a legal standard used to determine whether certain transactions qualify as investment contracts). Ripple Seeks Clarifications The court, however, did distinguish between institutional and programmatic sales, stating that the latter did not constitute securities when sold on digital exchanges. Hence, Ripple’s form C appeal now seeks to contest this ruling, highlighting four critical issues that it believes the court should consider: By challenging these points, Ripple will not only strengthen its case. It would also undermine the SEC’s claims. Meanwhile, Stuart Alderoty’s X post noted that “SEC can’t submit new evidence,” nor can it ask Ripple to “produce more.” For now, the crypto community awaits the outcome of the appeal and its possible impact on the crypto space.