Judge Analisa Torres has granted the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request to file an interlocutory appeal in the case against Ripple Labs. The regulator sent a letter to Torres on August 9, saying her decision could affect a number of pending lawsuits.
SEC counterattacks
Under U.S. law, an interlocutory appeal occurs when a first-instance court decision is challenged while other aspects of the case are still pending. The decision allows the SEC to file a motion by August 18 to take the case to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Ripple, on the other hand, will be able to file an opposition to the motion.
The decision comes just hours after Ripple Labs objected to a potential appeal in the case. Ripple’s attorneys presented three main arguments against the SEC’s motion.
First, they suggested that the appeal requires a clean legal question and that the SEC’s motion does not raise any new legal issues that would require review. They also argued that the SEC’s assertion that the court’s decision in the case was flawed was not sufficient and that an immediate appeal would not expedite the proceedings.
XRP is and is not a security
Torres issued a decision on July 13, according to which Ripple’s native token XRP is not a security when distributed to the public. In its decision, however, Torres recognized XRP as a security in institutional sales.
The Ripple case has been ongoing since December 2020, when the SEC brought suit against Ripple and its two CEOs, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, alleging that the company offered unregistered securities.
Garlinghouse, seeing the news confusion surrounding XRP, took to Twitter (X) and explained: “Reminder – the appeal request (even if granted) does not change the fact that XRP is not a security. This is not subject to discussion/process. But the SEC still claims that Chris and I acted recklessly in believing that XRP is not a security. This is complete nonsense.”
XRP like the rest of the market is suffering significantly
At the time of writing this content, XRP no longer seems to be particularly responsive to any information coming out of the courtroom. Nevertheless, the token, like the rest of the market is bleeding, losing significantly in value. It is currently struggling to maintain levels above $0.50.
More interesting is its situation on the chart in relation to Bitcoin, where XRP is defending the 200-week moving average. Its maintenance, despite the negative news, has the right to provide grounds for further increases.
