‘XRP is not a security. Period’ — Crypto lawyers on Ripple’s case amid SEC appeal
As the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks an interlocutory appeal in its case against Ripple Labs, lawyers working in the crypto space expressed confidence in Ripple’s case, with some underscoring that the XRP (XRP) token is not a security.
On Aug. 9, the SEC sent a letter to Judge Analisa Torres stating that it was moving to appeal the court decision, which it says warrants a fresh look by an appellate court. The SEC asked the judge to put the case on hold while the appeal is in progress.
The SEC’s move to appeal sparked questions among community members, with some thinking that the SEC’s move to appeal is a move to challenge the “non-security” status of XRP. However, crypto lawyers assured the community that this is not the case.
According to crypto lawyer Jeremy Hogan, the two issues are separate. Hogan explained that if the SEC wins the appeal on the sales, Ripple would not be able to facilitate sales using exchanges. Despite this, the lawyer believes that exchanges could keep XRP listed as long as the sales are not made by Ripple.
Cointelegraph reached out to crypto lawyer Oscar Franklin Tan, chief legal officer of the nonfungible token (NFT) platform Enjin, to break down some of the intricacies surrounding the SEC’s move.
According to Tan, appeals usually take place once the case is finished. However, the SEC’s appeal is interlocutory, meaning it wants to appeal even though the case is unfinished.
The SEC does not have the “right” to appeal just yet which is why they are asking permission to file an “interlocutory” appeal. Ripple will file its response with the Court next week. Stay tuned. https://t.co/zCeVZhYfxc
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) August 9, 2023
When asked how this appeal could potentially influence the course of the case, Tan told Cointelegraph that it’s all about the momentum. He explained:
“The SEC is asking to pause the XRP case while the interlocutory appeal goes on. If the appeal is allowed, whoever wins the appeal builds momentum in the main case.”
While Hogan believes that the appeal will not affect XRP’s security status, Tan believes that this is still what the SEC is after. He thinks the SEC is still looking to overturn the July decision by Torres that XRP is not a security in certain instances.
Related: Ripple joins BIS cross-border payments task force
Tan said that, at the moment, the SEC is using the conclusion in the Terraform Labs case against the judge in the XRP case. The crypto lawyer said that the SEC argues that a higher court should “break the tie” among different conclusions. However, Tan believes the SEC should let the court process proceed normally. He explained:
“What the SEC should have done is to provide clearer guidance before taking anyone to court. Since Ripple and other parties decided to take the SEC to court to get this guidance, the SEC should let the court process proceed normally.”
Meanwhile, Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty told the community to “stay tuned,” noting that Ripple will file its response with the court next week.
Magazine: SEC reviews Ripple ruling, US bill seeks control over DeFi, and more: Hodler’s Digest
The election of a pro-crypto President in the United States and growing macroeconomic turmoil will continue to drive investors to Bitcoin.
Politics
Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Read more:
Ex-Labour adviser suggests doing to farms ‘what Thatcher did to coal mines’
Farmers ‘could block ports and disrupt food supply’
Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.
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