Ripple Labs, the global payments company behind the XRP digital asset, has locked in a partial win in its nearly three-year-long lawsuit over the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The announcement was shortly followed by a massive surge in XRP’s price.
Court Rules Partly in Ripple’s Favor
In a Thursday court hearing, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres gave a ruling that partially favored Ripple.
“Having considered the economic reality and totality of circumstances, the Court concludes that Ripple’s Programmatic Sales of XRP did not constitute the offer and sale of investment contracts,” the court document stated.
The ruling by the judge was followed by a massive rise in the XRP token by over 70%. At the time of writing, the asset traded at $0.79.
Still, the judge’s ruling regarding the “institutional sales” of XRP was in favor of the SEC.
Shortly after the announcement of the court ruling, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted:
“We said in Dec 2020 that we were on the right side of the law, and will be on the right side of history. Thankful to everyone who helped us get to today’s decision – one that is for all crypto innovation in the US. More to come.”
End of the Lawsuit?
As far back as December 2022, Ripple Labs has been involved in a legal battle against the U.S. SEC. The agency sued Ripple under the premise that the blockchain company offered the trading of XRP tokens, which the financial regulator classify as security. Since then, the U.S. SEC has been on the side that Ripple should stop offering its XRP cryptocurrencies.
With the latest court decision, it may become easier for U.S.-based digital asset firms to offer cryptocurrency trading to investors without worrying that the assets may be termed as securities.
Meanwhile, whether or not the case has ended is uncertain as the court hearing ended with an incoming trial date for the case.
