The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has appealed a previous court ruling regarding Ripple's XRP sales. The SEC argued that the Southern District Court of New York's decision, which found some XRP sales did not violate securities laws, was "flawed" and called for its reversal.
In its filing, the SEC stated that while the court correctly determined that institutional investors expected profits from Ripple's efforts, it erred in assuming that retail investors did not share the same expectations. The commission claimed that Ripple's statements on its website and social media platforms were accessible to both retail and institutional investors, implying that all XRP investors had similar profit expectations.
Back in 2020, the SEC accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities sale worth $1.3 billion through XRP sales. However, in 2023, the court ruled that Ripple's programmatic XRP sales did not violate securities laws. The court classified direct sales to institutional investors as securities transactions, leading to Ripple being fined $125 million.
Ripple's Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, dismissed the SEC's appeal as "recycled and unsuccessful arguments," suggesting that this move would likely be shelved by the next administration. Alderoty characterized the SEC's efforts as "noise" and expressed confidence that Ripple would emerge stronger from this legal battle.
