Ripple CEO calls SEC’s appeal ‘insanity’ as legal fight intensifies
Summary
The SEC has filed an opening brief to challenge a court ruling that favored Ripple, asserting that Ripple's XRP sales to retail buyers are unregistered securities transactions. The SEC argues that the district court made factual and legal errors by concluding that these sales did not constitute investment contracts under the Howey Test. The appeal follows a July 2023 ruling where only XRP sales to institutional investors were deemed securities. Ripple was fined $125 million in August 2024, and the ongoing legal battle has intensified with the SEC's appeal. Ripple's Chief Legal Officer dismissed the SEC's actions as repetitive and an obstacle to regulatory clarity, while CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized the SEC's approach as ineffective.
