Crypto investors need not worry about a negative impact on XRP from a possible SEC appeal, according to attorney John Deaton. Amid recent speculations about a potential appeal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the case against Ripple and the purported adverse effects on XRP that this appeal could cause, specialized crypto lawyer John Deaton now asserts that such a move poses no danger to XRP investors.
Although investors can currently rejoice in the fact that the sale of XRP to retail investors was not deemed an unlawful securities offering by a US court, concerns arose recently that an SEC appeal against this ruling could nullify this significant legal victory. However, Deaton, who represents more than 75,000 XRP investors, dismisses these fears as unfounded.
The focal point of the discussion is a court document from July 21, in which the SEC disclosed that it is currently considering an appeal in the case against Ripple while separately pursuing legal action against the crypto company Terraform Labs and its CEO Do Kwon. Kwon had previously attempted to use the XRP ruling as a legal basis to dismiss allegations against himself. Nevertheless, Deaton points out that an appeal could likely extend over two years, during which time the existing ruling would remain in effect. Moreover, there are compelling reasons to believe that the appellate judges could arrive at a similar conclusion to Judge Torres, who ruled in favor of Ripple. Consequently, the attorney concludes:
“An appeal is not even remotely a setback. We should not allow anyone to diminish how extraordinarily important this victory is for XRP, investors, and Ripple.”
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, also adds in an independent tweet that the SEC‘s powers are strictly limited to regulating securities trading. Therefore, if a cryptocurrency is not classified as a security, the agency should have no role in its regulation. Any further interference by the SEC would be purely political and a display of power that ultimately benefits no one.
With her ruling on July 13, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres determined that XRP is not considered a security when sold to retail investors. However, she stipulated that sales to institutional investors would indeed constitute securities offerings, implying that Ripple acted unlawfully in such cases.