In the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple’s legal team has taken a firm stance against the SEC’s request for an interlocutory appeal.
They argue that the regulator has not met the necessary requirements to file such an appeal, adding another chapter to this high-stakes crypto showdown.
Ripple has officially opposed the SEC’s request for an appeal related to the recent ruling in the case. The ruling stated that Ripple, the San Francisco-based blockchain payments company, did not violate securities laws by making XRP available to retail traders on cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ripple’s legal team argued that the SEC’s grounds for seeking an appeal primarily revolve around their dissatisfaction with the judge’s decision that XRP doesn’t inherently qualify as a security.
They further emphasized that the “exceptional circumstances” required for an interlocutory appeal do not apply to this case. Ripple urged the judge to dismiss any request for an appeal or stay, stating:
“The SEC has not even attempted to meet the standard for a stay, even after the Individual Defendants identified that omission in their pre-motion letter. The Individual Defendants write separately to oppose the SEC’s request. Ripple joins that opposition.”
Earlier, the SEC expressed its intention to seek an interlocutory appeal of Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling, asserting that the outcome of this Ripple suit could set a precedent for other pending cases involving major cryptocurrency trading companies.
The commission argued that an appellate review was justified, citing “controlling questions of law” and “substantial grounds for difference of opinion” as reasons to expedite the legal process.
As the legal wrangling continues, it’s clear that Ripple’s battle with the SEC is far from over. The case began in December 2020 when the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that the company and its top executives, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen, raised $1.3 billion through the sale of unregistered securities in the form of XRP tokens.
