A federal judge has handed a significant blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by rejecting its bid to appeal against the loss it suffered in a lawsuit against Ripple, the cryptocurrency company known for its XRP token.
In a brief ruling on Tuesday, District Judge Analisa Torres stated that the SEC had failed to meet its burden under the law to demonstrate that there were essential legal questions or substantial grounds for differences of opinion. The judge’s decision marks a major setback for the SEC, which had hoped to challenge the previous ruling.
However, it’s not all bad news for the SEC. Although the appeal was rejected, the judge set a trial date for April 2024 to address other unresolved issues in the case. This means that the agency still has an opportunity to pursue its argument through the legal system.
The initial ruling in July concluded that Ripple had violated federal securities laws by selling XRP directly to institutional investors. However, the judge also determined that the company had not done so by offering XRP to retail customers through programmatic sales to exchanges. This decision raised doubts about the extent to which securities regulators could effectively regulate the cryptocurrency market.
Following the ruling in July, the SEC had announced its intention to file an interlocutory appeal and had requested a stay on any further decision-making, aiming to secure an appeal court review of Judge Torres’ ruling.
As of the time of writing, representatives from both the SEC and Ripple have not responded to requests for comment regarding the latest development.
It’s important to note that this article was last updated on October 3, 2023, at 23:21 UTC, with an update on XRP’s price.
