SEC and Ripple Labs Officially End Multiyear Securities Battle

Litigation attorney Andrew Balthazor was quoted in a National Law Journal article recapping the latest development in the multiyear legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Started in 2020 after the SEC concluded the sale of Ripple's XRP token constituted an unregistered securities offering, the story appears to be coming to a close as the parties filed a joint stipulation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to dismiss the case. Mr. Balthazor, who co-leads Holland & Knight's Crypto Asset Dispute Team, cautioned that dismissing the appeals leaves in place a district court ruling that cryptocurrency sales can be considered securities transactions in certain situations.

"Although not binding, [Judge Analisa Torres'] ruling constitutes law which will now not be subject to appellate review," he explained. "The current crypto-friendly SEC and crypto industry will still have to grapple with this and other crypto-related common law created over the past 12 years or so, which law will continue to be relied upon by state authorities and the plaintiffs bar."

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