Tag: SEC v Ripple

Ripple Settlement Offers Hope For Better Regulatory Future

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By J.W. Verret. Law360. April 16, 2025.

Editor’s note: Law360 welcomes opinionated commentary and debate in our Expert Analysis section. To submit op-eds or rebuttals, or to speak to an editor about submissions, please email [email protected].

Four years ago, I wrote that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation was “haphazard and inconsistent.” I argued that the agency’s decision to wait eight years before filing a complaint against Ripple Labs in December 2020 was irresponsible, and that the SEC needed to provide more clarity about when and how cryptocurrencies would be regulated.

In the waning days of Chair Jay Clayton’s tenure, the commission, in SEC v. Ripple in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, brought its first major action against developers of a blockchain token alleging the unregistered sales of a security. This started a chain reaction of dozens of such cases during Chair Gary Gensler’s tenure alleging the unregistered sales of securities against crypto developers in actions where no fraud occurred and where no pathway to registration was even available.

Read full article here.

The Crypto Ball Is In Congress’ Court

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By Dan Ikenson. Forbes. April 15, 2025.

In May 2024, prospects for the United States becoming a global innovation center for digital assets and other promising blockchain technologies were gloomy. Regulatory uncertainty and general hostility from Washington presented high hurdles to industry growth. But the perseverance of determined entrepreneurs, changes in U.S. political leadership, and a growing appreciation for the economic importance and broader application of these cost-saving technologies have changed perceptions and raised expectations that the United States will become “the crypto capital of the world.” The ball is now in Congress’ court.

Read more here: Forbes

SEC Vs Ripple Lawsuit Dropped

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By Nina Bambysheva. (Forbes). March 25, 2025.

RIPPLE CEO SAYS SEC HAS DROPPED ITS LAWSUIT AGAINST THE COMPANY

Brad Garlinghouse didn’t bury the lede. “It’s over,” the CEO of Ripple declared in a video posted to X on Wednesday, announcing the end of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s yearslong lawsuit against his company, the developer of the XRP Ledger and its native token. XRP surged 10% on the news.

The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, accusing it of raising $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering. In 2023, Ripple notched a partial victory: a federal judge ruled that XRP wasn’t a security when sold to retail investors, but was when sold to institutions. The agency appealed that decision, but according to Garlinghouse, it is now backing down. The SEC has yet to confirm it.

In recent weeks, the securities regulator has also dropped cases and investigations into Coinbase, Uniswap, Robinhood, OpenSea, Kraken and Consensys, as its newly formed crypto task force is working on a more “comprehensive and clear” regulatory framework for the industry.

TORNADO CASH REMOVED FROM SANCTIONS LIST

The U.S. Treasury has removed Tornado Cash, a crypto privacy tool, from its sanctions list, marking a major reversal in one of the most controversial enforcement actions of the Biden era.

The decentralized Ethereum-based mixer was blacklisted in 2022 after U.S. authorities linked it to more than $7 billion in laundered funds, including over $455 million allegedly stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The move effectively banned U.S. persons from using the service and sparked backlash from crypto advocates, who argued that targeting a smart contract, an autonomous piece of code, set a dangerous legal precedent.

Now, addresses associated with Tornado Cash have been scrubbed from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on Friday the administration “remains deeply concerned” about North Korea’s “state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign” and would continue to monitor transactions that may benefit hackers.

The decision could impact the case against Roman Storm, one of Tornado Cash’s developers, who still faces charges related to money laundering and sanctions violations.

COINBASE IS IN “ADVANCED TALKS” TO BUY DERIBIT

The largest crypto exchange in the U.S. could soon acquire Deribit, the leading platform for bitcoin and ether options trading, according to Bloomberg. The companies have reportedly informed regulators in Dubai, where Deribit holds a license that would transfer to any buyer. If finalized, the deal would mark Coinbase’s most aggressive move yet into the booming crypto derivatives market, which has long been dominated by offshore players.

Bitnomial Suit Highlights Crypto Turf War Between SEC, CFTC

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By Professor Tonya Evans. (Law360). October 31. 2024.

Bitnomial Exchange LLC’s lawsuit[1] against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed on Oct. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, signals a major shift as digital asset exchanges push back against regulatory overreach. Bitnomial is seeking a declaratory judgment to challenge the SEC’s expansive jurisdiction over digital assets, fighting for clear and legally sound rules that foster innovation rather than stifle it.

The commission’s enforcement strategy under SEC Chair Gary Gensler has created regulatory uncertainty. Gensler’s “regulation by enforcement” approach diverges from established securities law and risks weakening U.S. leadership in financial technology.

By filing suit, Bitnomial aims to expose the pitfalls in the SEC’s regulatory tactics, joining other exchanges in a broader legal effort to reshape the rules governing digital assets.

Read the full article here: Law360.

Gary Gensler Has to Go

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By Jared Whitley. (Townhall). October 12, 2024.

After 21 years with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), enforcement director Gurbir Grewal, has resigned. Why? The same day that Gary Gensler’s head of enforcement announced his resignation, the SEC appealed its most famous crypto enforcement action against Ripple, challenging the recent civil penalties ruling, prolonging the case even further. Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty took notice of the parallel moves, as Grewal’s resignation was announced a mere hour before the filing. 

Gensler is undoubtedly aware of his political fall from grace, if he were ever held in high regard. Indeed, Commissioner Hester Pierce dared to openly challenge his policies during the House hearing and Gensler’s hands began to visibly tremble throughout. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) asked Peirce if the SEC’s enforcement agenda “reflects the priorities of the commissioners as a whole,” or if it is “an extension of Chairman Gensler’s agenda?” Peirce was blunt: “The agenda is the chairman’s agenda,” and that there are “other things we should be spending our time on.” 

There is no clearer example of Gensler’s muddled agenda than the prolonged litigation battle between the SEC and the U.S. crypto payments company Ripple. The SEC made over-the-top legal allegations as a proxy fight against the entire crypto industry and has dragged the case out for almost four years (and counting) in a naked attempt to bulldoze the company’s business. The case centered on Ripple’s sales of the XRP token to a variety of buyers, including anonymous trades on public exchanges.

Read the full piece here: Townhall.

Democrats Must Seize the Chance to Change Crypto Narrative

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By Al Wynn. (RealClear Policy). September 27, 2024.

In politics, a lot can change in a month. After the first presidential debate, Trump and the Republicans appeared to have significant momentum heading into November. Now, Vice-President Kamala Harris, buttressed by her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, can pave a new path forward for the party. Walz’s selection underscores the Harris campaign’s intention to fight for every state and every constituency. As we inch closer and closer to November, the presidential campaigns need all the wins they can get. Harris would do well to reflect on and court the voters who may feel abandoned by the larger party’s approach to certain industries and issues.

One of the many surprises of this election cycle is the emergence of new power players and the constituencies they represent—namely the cryptocurrency industry. Touting freedom of choice as an important aspect of her platform, that sentiment should extend to financial freedom, and with it, the pursuit of financial innovation. The Democratic National Convention has come and gone without much tangible change in the race. Now is the time for Harris to turn the page on crypto for the Democratic party as it becomes a larger part of all our economic and technological futures.

Read the full piece here: RealClear Policy

Ripple Gets OK To Pause SEC Penalty As It Mulls Appeal

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By Aislinn Keely. (Law360). September 4, 2024.

Law360 (September 4, 2024, 9:34 PM EDT) — A New York federal judge on Wednesday signed off on Ripple Labs’ request to hold off on paying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission the $125 million penalty it owes to allow time for either side to appeal the landmark ruling in the agency’s registration case.

The blockchain firm asked U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres earlier Wednesday to delay the monetary portion of her Aug. 7 judgment, which directed Ripple to pay the penalty for failing to register institutional sales of its XRP token. Though Ripple was due to pay up on Friday, Judge Torres allowed a stay until either 30 days after the time to appeal expires, or the resolution of any appeal. 

Read more at: Law360

Court Brings Gavel Down on SEC’s War on Crypto

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By Roslyn Layton. (DC Journal). August 20, 2024.

On August 8, Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. Southern District of New York issued her judgment on the case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against the blockchain payments company Ripple. 

In her 16-page order, Torres brought the District Court’s gavel down on the SEC’s spectacular failure to expand the administrative state beyond what the law allows. The SEC should read the room and move on.

From the moment the SEC filed its case against Ripple in December 2020, the breadth and audacity of its legal assault on the company and its two senior executives rightly dubbed it the cryptocurrency trial of the century. The SEC argued that the XRP token, a digital commodity by any definition, was a security and that all XRP sales between any two parties are investment contracts with Ripple in perpetuity.

Read the full piece here: DC Journal.

SEC Intends to Amend Complaint Against Third Party Tokens (Like SOL) in Binance Case

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By Amitoj Singh. (CoinDesk). July 30, 2024.

  • The SEC intends to amend its complaint against Binance, including with respect to the ‘Third Party Crypto Asset Securities,” it said in a court filing.
  • This likely means that the Judge won’t have to decide whether 10 tokens such as Solana and Matic are unregistered securities or not.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be dropping it’s charges against so-called third-party tokens, such as Solana’s SOL and Polygon’s MATIC, which have been part of its case against Binance, according to a court filing early Tuesday morning.

According to the filing, the SEC has already informed the defendants, Binance and affiliated entities (namely Binance.US and founder Changpeng Zhao), that it “intends to seek leave to amend its complaint, including with respect to the ‘Third Party Crypto Asset Securities’… “obviating the need for the Court to issue a ruling as to the sufficiency of the allegations as to those tokens at this time.”

Read full article here: CoinDesk

It’s time to end the SEC’s war on crypto

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By Anthony Scaramucci. (Blockworks). June 6, 2024.

The American government is badly damaged — we need public servants who care more about right or wrong, especially when it comes to the crypto industry.

I’m not denying that there are reasonable questions about how crypto firms should be regulated. Many policy questions still require legislation to resolve. But, our current system is broken.

The Securities and Exchange Commission traditionally does not expose itself and its credibility to an appellate beatdown. But this SEC is different. This SEC and Chair Gary Gensler have an extra-regulatory anti-crypto agenda. And they are using their power to obstruct and delay the industry — imposing their own preferences where they can. 

Gensler may not like bitcoin. But whether you decide to invest in bitcoin is up to you, not the SEC. 

Read the full article here: Blockworks