Court Further Solidifies XRP Position as Only Altcoin with Legal Clarity in U.S.

Attorney Deaton reacts to the court’s denial of SEC’s interlocutory appeal request, asserting that XRP is the only altcoin with pure legal status of not being a security in the U.S.

Following Judge Analisa Torres’ decision to deny the SEC’s interlocutory appeal request, the court has solidified XRP’s position as the only altcoin with legal clarity in the U.S.

This is the view of Attorney John Deaton, a lawyer representing thousands of XRP holders in the ongoing lawsuit.

During an interview with Digital Perspectives yesterday, Attorney Deaton provided clarity on the recent ruling, emphasizing its significance. 

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“As far as legal status, XRP is the only one that has the pure legal status of not being a security,” Attorney Deaton remarked.

XRP is the ONLY digital asset with LEGAL clarity in the United States! @JohnEDeaton1 on @DigPerspectives pic.twitter.com/jSlSBuQUH1

— Digital Asset Investor.XRP (@digitalassetbuy) October 4, 2023

Court Solidifies XRP Non-Security Status

Recall that on July 13, the court ruled that XRP itself is not a security. The court also found that Ripple’s XRP sales to institutional investors constituted investment contracts while sales to retail investors did not.

However, the SEC, in its quest to review the decision, asked the court to certify an interlocutory appeal. In an August filing, the SEC noted that the July 13 decision contains controlling questions of law, thus creating room for different opinions.

Expectedly, Ripple also filed its opposition to the SEC’s request to certify an interlocutory appeal. After the parties submitted the necessary motions, the court issued the highly anticipated ruling yesterday.

As reported earlier, the court denied the request, stating that the July 13 decision does not possess pure questions of law as alleged by the SEC.

The decision further supports the court’s decision in the case. Consequently, the ruling affirms XRP as the only digital asset, other than Bitcoin, with legal clarity in the U.S.

Why the Court Denied SEC’s Immediate Appeal Request

Meanwhile, Attorney Deaton also provided an analysis of why the court denied the SEC’s interlocutory appeal request.

According to Deaton, the only time an interlocutory appeal is granted is when the appellate court does not get to analyze the facts of the case.

However, Deaton said Judge Torres pointed out that she applied the facts to the case before issuing the decision.

“She [the judge] just takes the SEC to school and solidifies her first ruling so much even better,” he added.

Way Forward

Following the court’s denial of the SEC’s interlocutory appeal request, the SEC is left with limited options. If it insists on appealing the court’s ruling on Ripple’s programmatic XRP sales and other distributions, the SEC will have to wait until all issues are resolved.

The court has already scheduled a trial for April 23, 2024, to resolve the SEC’s case against Ripple execs. The duration of the trial is unknown at press time.

In addition, the SEC can also take advantage of the upcoming settlement conference to reach an agreement with Ripple.

Recall that the court ordered the parties to physically discuss a settlement for at least an hour with each party and their counsel expected to be present.

Per the court, the settlement discussion will be held before the final pretrial conference scheduled for April 16, 2024.