Ripple has gained access to internal SEC documents, in which the department expresses its views on the nature and regulation of crypto assets. Ripple still intends to prove XRP is not a security.
Last December, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple and its co-founders, accusing them of a $ 1.3 billion sale of unregistered securities in 2013. Ripple has denied the agency’s accusations, urging the Commission to elaborate on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in more detail. In a lawsuit with the SEC, Ripple demanded that the regulator provide arguments why bitcoin and ether are not considered securities, but XRP is classified as such.
Ripple has filed a petition with the court demanding to review the SEC memorandums and minutes, in which the regulator expresses its views on digital assets and clarifies in which cases they can be regarded as securities. Thus, Ripple hopes to find a “clue” that BTC, ETH and XRP have similarities with each other, due to which the Ripple cryptocurrency will also cease to be considered a security. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York Sarah Netburn considered that the SEC materials could indeed contain such information, and for the most part satisfied Ripple’s claim. The company will gain access to SEC documents for internal use, but the correspondence of SEC employees will remain closed.
According to Ripple lawyer Mathew Solomon, if it is found that the SEC called XRP a currency and not a security, the litigation could end as XRP would go beyond the regulator’s mandate. Such details can significantly affect the outcome of a case. In the future, this can be used by other cryptocurrency startups as an unofficial guide.
Judge Netburn recently said XRP bears more resemblance to fiat currencies than securities. Therefore, Ripple has the hope that the case will turn in its favor.
