The prolonged legal dispute between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the company Ripple Lab, issuer of the XRP token, has the community divided, as some think that the controversy will end with the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House. Meanwhile, others believe that the legal battle will continue regardless of the change of government. As reported by BitcoinDynamic, the Ripple case is a legal precedent that may have weight when defining the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the United States. This is due to the fact that the complaint is practically in court and not based on previously established norms. In that sense, the judge determined that institutional sales of XRP constituted securities because they met the conditions established in the Howey test. This does not happen with programmatic sales and other token distributions, which should not be classified as security. So, for that reason, XRP may be considered a security in certain circumstancesbut in others not. All of this, determined in court, represents a significant precedent, as it provides clarity regarding the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies and how they should be classified by the SEC, which until now has been the main regulator of the digital assets sector. In any case, last August, everything seemed to indicate that the lawsuit had ended, putting an end to a long-standing dispute, but the agency presented, at the beginning of October, its decision to appeal the court ruling that determined that the sales of XRP on exchanges and other distributions should not be classified as securities.
Sec vs Ripple, will a change occur after Trump's inauguration?
Amid growing speculation about a possible resolution of the SEC vs. Ripple case, much has been said about the possibility of a change, now that Donald Trump will become the first pro-cryptocurrency president in American history. This, in the same way, has raised expectations that changes will occur in the administration of the SEC and that all this transformation will be favorable for the digital assets sector. At the same time, there has been an increase in optimism among XRP enthusiasts and all this effervescence has skyrocketed the price of the Ripple token, which after three years was once again trading above $1.30, and its ambition does not stop there, as reported by BitcoinDynamic. In the midst of all this, relevant figures in the regulatory sector, such as the former president of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Chris Giancarlo, are convinced about the outcome of the case. And in a recent interview Giancarlo suggested that the SEC will drop the lawsuit under the new administration of Donald Trump. It is important to note that Giancarlo's opinion is relevant given that he is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency sector, where he is known as «Crypto Dad», and is also Trump's main option for the new position of leader on the Advisory Council. of digital assets that the new government would have. Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's head of legal affairs, agrees that the next SEC chief should abandon all cryptocurrency cases that are not fraud, from day one. As noted earlier in this note, there are many people who believe that the SEC should drop the case against Ripple. One of these characters is Marco Santori, legal head of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, which is among the companies sued by the regulatory agency. For Santori, “the SEC lost resoundingly with this ‘tokens are securities’ theory and will not be allowed to rely on it in the future.” He is convinced that Kraken will triumph in its legal battle against the US agency. US Lawyers Jeremy Hogan believes the SEC could eventually drop many non-fraud lawsuits, including the Ripple case. Meanwhile, his colleague Fred Rispoli thinks otherwise, in his view it is unlikely that the agency will abandon the case completely. In any case, the tension around the battle of Ripple vs. SEC reflects broader debate on cryptocurrency regulation in the United States. The outcome of this litigation could not only impact XRP, but also set precedents that would influence the entire digital asset market. The community is watching to see how this legal battle plays out, especially with the possibility of a more favorable regulatory environment on the horizon. The community is watching to see how this legal battle plays out, especially with the possibility of a more favorable regulatory environment on the horizon. Meanwhile, expectations are likely to increase, as both the SEC and Ripple have until January 15, 2025 to present their arguments in court. This leaves the window open for key industry players to remain alert to political moves that could radically change the rules of the game in the cryptocurrency space.