Ripple’s Legal Head Warns Against Sec Appeal After $125m XRP Judgement
Ripple’s chief legal officer has discussed the prospect of an appeal by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response to the $125 million final verdict in the XRP case.
He recommends against the securities regulator filing an appeal if the Biden-Harris administration is serious about changing its position on cryptocurrencies. Noting that the court decisively rejected the idea that XRP itself should be classed as a security, he said that the SEC “lost on everything” significant.
According to Ripple’s press release, this is another victory after nearly four years of SEC surveillance.
Ripple’s legal head speaks.
In an interview with CNBC last week, Ripple’s legal head, Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple, talked about the verdict in the lawsuit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed against the company over XRP.
This came after the final ruling, in which District Judge Analisa Torres assessed a $125 million civil penalty and largely approved the SEC’s request for remedies against Ripple.
“We’re feeling really good about it,” Alderoty said of the judgment. “Ripple, when it was first sued by the SEC almost four years ago, said that we were going to defend this case, not only on our own behalf but on behalf of the entire crypto industry. This administration, with this SEC, under this chair, has clearly taken an anti-crypto stance and has engaged in a war on crypto that’s playing out in the courts.”
He added:
I think they [SEC] lost on everything that was important to them. Trying to establish that a token itself — in this case, XRP — can be considered a security was soundly rejected by the court.
Alderoty stated, “We will pay with cash off our balance sheet and look forward to moving forward” in reference to the $125 million punishment. He believes that this is a turning point for Ripple and an opportunity for the Biden-Harris administration to “hit the reset button and turn the page on their war on crypto.”
In response to a question about whether the legal dispute with the SEC is finished, the chief legal officer of Ripple stated, “In our minds, we are finally done.” According to the court’s ruling, the fee must be paid in 30 days, which he said would happen.
Perspective of Ripple After Judgment
Ripple must still pay the $125 million punishment, which is significant even though it is less than the $1 billion and $900 million the SEC initially requested.
However, this doesn’t deter Ripple’s intentions for further growth and financial stability, which they feel should now be backed by more equitable and transparent regulatory frameworks.
As said by Alderoty:
“We look forward to moving forward and will pay that with cash off our balance sheet.”
He continued, saying:
“This war on crypto has really skewed the SEC’s core mission and skewed their commitment to kinda stick to their lanes in their jurisdiction. What we need as a country is to hit the reset button, and what we really should be focusing on is creating clear laws, rules, and regulations so this industry can thrive in the United States just as it is thriving outside the United States.”