Top executives from Ripple have joined the wider XRP community to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Judge Analisa Torres’ summary judgment decision in the SEC lawsuit. This decision, which was made on July 13, 2023, marked a significant legal victory for Ripple against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Judge Torres ruled that XRP itself is not considered a security and that certain transactions involving XRP, which the SEC claimed were securities, were not. This includes programmatic sales of XRP on secondary markets and other distributions of the coin. However, the court did find that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP violated Section 5 of the Securities Act. This aspect of the ruling is currently being deliberated in the remedies phase of the lawsuit, but Ripple still considers Judge Torres’ summary judgment decision to be a complete victory for XRP.
To commemorate this milestone, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and other XRP enthusiasts took to the X platform to reflect on the legal victory. Garlinghouse described July 13 as a momentous day for Ripple and the industry, and a personal core memory for him. He emphasized that Ripple had the courage to stand up against the SEC, which he characterized as a bully unfairly targeting the crypto industry. Garlinghouse has always believed that Ripple was on the right side of the law and would ultimately be on the right side of history.
In addition, Garlinghouse criticized SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s leadership, accusing the agency of waging a war on crypto. He claimed that the SEC’s failed lawsuits, defamation, misleading statements, and intimidation tactics were an attempt to destroy the industry. Despite these efforts, Garlinghouse remains confident that the SEC’s actions will not stifle the crypto industry.
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, also reflected on Judge Torres’ summary judgment decision, considering it a significant moment in establishing that XRP, and tokens in general, cannot be considered securities. He noted that this ruling has had an impact on other crypto-related lawsuits, including the SEC v. Binance case. Alderoty expressed his frustration with the ongoing token-by-token litigation and called for legislative progress in the U.S. crypto industry, as policymakers from both sides of the aisle are growing increasingly frustrated.
Alderoty emphasized that the court’s determination that XRP is not a security remains unchallenged, a fact admitted by the SEC. He urged the community not to be distracted by the SEC’s continued efforts to engage Ripple and the industry in litigation, as the SEC’s runway for such actions is running out.
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