Ripple’s next battle: Lawsuit to determine XRP’s security status proceeds

    Judge Hamilton greenlit a lawsuit, considering XRP a potential security sold to retail investors.
    Legal complexities persist despite dismissed claims. 

As a long-term crypto investor with a keen interest in XRP, I’ve followed its development closely since its inception. The recent court ruling by Judge Phyllis Hamilton has brought renewed uncertainty to the XRP market, casting a shadow over its future regulatory status.


As a crypto investor following the ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the security classification of XRP, I’m keeping a close eye on recent developments. A new significant court ruling in this case has been announced.

Is XRP a security?

On June 20th, Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the US District Court in the Northern District of California ruled that XRP might be classified as a security when purchased by individual investors. As a result, a lawsuit against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse for alleged misstatements could move forward.

Significantly, Judge Hamilton disregarded the claims that Ripple should have registered XRP as a security in light of four additional accusations.

At the trial, the primary point of contention will be whether Garlinghouse’s statements can be considered misleading information.

Expressing his content, Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stu Alderoty told a publication, 

“We’re glad that the California court rejected all class action lawsuits. The sole remaining claim for an individual state law, which will be addressed during the trial, survived the dismissal.”

Prior to rendering her decision to move forward with the trial, Judge Phyllis Hamilton denied Ripple Labs’ application for summary judgment. This is a type of court proceeding aimed at securing a favorable judgment without the need for a full-blown trial.

Instead, she greenlit the civil securities lawsuit against Ripple Labs.

What happened back in 2017?

For context, the statement made by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse back in 2017 in conversations with Canada’s BNN Bloomberg were,  

“I’m long XRP, I’m very, very long XRP as a percentage of my personal balance sheet.” 

However, the lawsuit contends this was untrue, claiming he sold millions of XRP during that period.

As a researcher studying the regulatory classification of XRP, I’ve come across an important finding. Judge Analisa Torres previously ruled that in certain circumstances, XRP qualifies as a security based on the Howey test, specifically when it was sold to institutional investors.

As an analyst, I would interpret Hamilton’s perspective as follows: According to Hamilton’s argument, when a rational non-institutional investor purchases XRP from Ripple, they are anticipating profits not just from using the digital asset for transactions, but also from Ripple’s efforts and developments. Consequently, based on the Howey test criteria for securities, XRP can be considered as such.

The lawsuit claiming that Brad Garlinghouse provided false representations regarding XRP‘s standing can move forward.

As an analyst, I’ve come to realize that the disparate judgments regarding cryptocurrencies highlight the intricate and ever-changing legal terrain in this sector. While there was initial excitement following Torres’ ruling, it’s clear now that regulatory decisions can be unpredictable and subject to varying interpretations.

XRP’s price action

As a financial analyst, I’m observing that XRP‘s price currently hovers around $0.4912 following a minor setback of 1.74% over the last 24 hours. The ongoing legal disputes surrounding Ripple have not yet shown any significant impact on its trading value.

According to AMBCrypto’s interpretation of Santiment’s findings, there has been a notable increase in social media chatter surrounding the topic, which had previously seen a significant decrease.

Social dominance was on the rise, implying potential favorable signs for XRP in the near future.

Ripple’s next battle: Lawsuit to determine XRP’s security status proceeds

Read More

2024-06-21 21:16