A former federal prosecutor, who is now the executive director of a cryptocurrency-focused venture capital fund, said she would be “surprised” if the US Securities and Exchange Commission immediately appealed the ruling in the Ripple case due to the current lack of “legal clarity.” .
On July 13, Judge Analisa Torres issued a partial summary judgment in favor of Ripple Labs regarding XRP’s status as a security. At the time, some commentators warned that an SEC appeal was possible.
However, in a July 15 Twitter thread, Haun Ventures CEO Katie Haun said explained that the securities regulator is likely to remain silent as it benefits from the “current confusion” and that the loss of an appeal could jeopardize its future enforcement action.
“Anything is possible, but an immediate appeal seems unlikely because the agency would have to ask the court to separate this decision from the part that is up for trial, and because I’m skeptical that the SEC actually wants legal clarity,” Haun said .
“The Commission is benefiting from the current confusion and if these issues are lost on appeal it would jeopardize its entire enforcement agenda. So I’d be surprised if the SEC tried to appeal now.”
Haun is only the most recent commenter to share this view.
On July 15, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes it could be “years” before the SEC files an appeal. He added that an SEC appeal would only uphold Judge Torres’ decision that XRP was not a security.
In a video posted on YouTube the same day, US attorney and Ripple commentator Jeremy Hogan said he believes the SEC will appeal after the end of the SEC-Ripple trial, which is scheduled for early 2024.
The SEC is currently suing crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase for alleged violations of securities laws. Some believe that while the recent ruling in the Ripple case does not set a binding precedent, it could have implications for the outcome of the cases.
Related: The Ripple decision is “problematic on a number of levels,” says a former SEC official
Meanwhile, many crypto commentators and lawmakers have called on Congress to take action and bring legal clarity to crypto in light of the recent ruling.
Brian Quintenz, former commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and now head of policy at crypto venture capital fund a16z, specified that the recent Ripple court ruling “only leads to more uncertainty for entrepreneurs and builders.”
US Senator Cynthia Lummis said the ruling underscores the urgent need for Congress to create a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry.
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