Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has recently made a bold move by filing a cross-appeal against the SEC. This decision comes after the SEC appealed a previous ruling that ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty for its XRP sales, a far cry from the $2 billion initially sought by the regulator.
In response to the SEC’s appeal, Ripple announced yesterday that it had filed a cross-appeal of Judge Torres’s final judgment, which was entered on Aug. 7, 2024.
Garlinghouse took to Twitter to express his thoughts on Ripple’s cross-appeal. He reiterated his stance from earlier in October, stating that if the SEC and Chairman Gary Gensler truly valued the rule of law, they would accept their defeat and move forward. However, Garlinghouse believes that the SEC is not interested in upholding the law or providing clarity to industry players in the US. He criticized the agency’s approach under Chair Gensler, accusing them of causing chaos and disregarding US innovation and technology.
The Ripple CEO emphasized the significance of the cross-appeal, stating that it could potentially seal the SEC’s fate and put an end to their regulation-by-enforcement agenda. Garlinghouse expressed confidence in Ripple’s ability to set a precedent in this legal battle, citing their success in the initial court proceedings.
Ripple’s chief legal counsel, Stuart Alderoty, highlighted that the SEC lost on all key points in the previous ruling, prompting the decision to file a cross-appeal.
In a related development, crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial has sued the SEC over its claim to have jurisdiction over a planned XRP futures contract. Bitnomial, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, filed for an XRP U.S. Dollar Futures contract in August. The SEC contended that XRP Futures are “security futures” subject to their jurisdiction, warning Bitnomial of potential violations of federal securities laws.
Bitnomial’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges against the SEC. Earlier this week, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the agency, accusing them of overstepping their authority by classifying nearly all crypto assets as securities.
These developments underscore the ongoing legal battles within the cryptocurrency industry and the challenges faced by companies like Ripple and Bitnomial in navigating regulatory uncertainties. As the legal proceedings unfold, the outcomes will have significant implications for the future of cryptocurrency regulation in the US.