XRP Securities Controversy Reignites: Ripple CTO Says Court Ruling "Undermines" SEC Theory

Odaily Planet Daily News Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz stated that although the SEC acknowledges that XRP itself is not inherently a security, its legal theory still treats XRP as a security, based on the argument that holders expect to profit from Ripple's efforts. Marc Fagel, former Regional Director of the SEC's San Francisco office, stated that the relevant case targets Ripple's sales of XRP, not the XRP token itself. He believes the SEC only argues that Ripple sold XRP as a security.

Schwartz countered that the SEC's claims regarding programmatic sales on exchanges cannot be explained solely by "Ripple selling XRP as a security," because buyers typically do not know the seller's identity and may not have been exposed to Ripple's statements. The court ultimately distinguished between different transaction types, ruling that certain institutional sales constituted investment contracts, while Ripple's programmatic exchange sales did not. Schwartz believes this indicates the court narrowed the SEC's broader theory. (News.bitcoin)