Lawyers agree – whether XRP is recognized as a security or not will have a significant impact on the course of litigation faced by the Binance and Coinbase exchanges. Ripple representatives were right – they are now defending the entire industry.
The Ripple case is gaining attention
The judges who are presiding over the trials of Coinbase and Binance will certainly be closely following the development of the SEC case against Ripple.
Ripple has been in a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission since December 2020, with the regulator accusing Ripple of offering unregistered securities under the form of XRP.
On June 6, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, while claiming that the platform offers trading in unregistered securities. A day earlier, a similar offensive was experienced by Binance, which will face twin charges.
James Murphy, a lawyer known as “MetaLawMan,” explained on Twitter on June 9 that a favorable outcome for Ripple could “undermine the entire basis of the SEC’s case” against both platforms. However, to cool possible excitement, he warned that Judge Torres’ ruling in the Ripple case would not be a “binding precedent” for the latter filings.
Does the SEC already know it will lose the XRP case?
Lawyer John Deaton believes that the SEC is “well aware” that Judge Torres’ decision in the Ripple case will be announced “in the very near future.” Deaton thinks that the SEC deliberately brought new cases before the verdict on XRP, stating:
“My impression is that the SEC wanted to file these cases before this decision in order to be protected in case of a bad outcome for the SEC, which could result in a loss of political and legal momentum.”
Murphy believes that Judge Reardon, assigned to the Coinbase case, “will pay particular attention” to determining whether XRP is a security or not, pointing out that both of them, along with Judge Torres, work in the same court in lower Manhattan. He says Reardon would “proceed in the same way” in determining whether the 13 tokens named in Coinbase’s lawsuit should be treated as securities.
XRP case could be used in a variety of ways
Bill Morgan, an XRP-friendly lawyer and a consultant at Morgan Mac Lawyers, shared his opinion, also suggesting that the Ripple case could affect the Binance and Coinbase cases.
Morgan explained that the outcome of the Ripple trial could benefit both the industry and the SEC, although it will depend on the outcome.
“If the SEC wins in the Ripple case, they will continue with the proceedings against Coinbase and Binance, having a solid judgment against them. The same will be true for Coinbase and Binance, which they will certainly use as an argument that the sale of XRP does not constitute an investment agreement.”
