On Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated legal action against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, alleging that Binance operated an exchange without proper registration and redirected investors’ funds to a trading entity under Zhao’s control.
As per the lawsuit, the SEC identified 10 additional tokens that it considered to be in violation of securities law. As stated in court documents, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS, and COTI as securities. These tokens, along with others, were collectively referred to as “crypto asset securities” in the SEC’s complaint.
However, the SEC has refrained from even mentioning XRP in the recent lawsuit. This decision came as a surprise to some, as there were expectations that XRP would be included in the list. This anticipation arose from the SEC’s prior allegations that XRP was security in its lawsuit against Ripple.
A Fox Business journalist has highlighted three reasons why she believes the SEC didn’t mention XRP in its securities list.
Some questions as to why the @SECGov did not name $XRP as a security token in the @binance lawsuit. According to some of my legal sources it could be one or all of a couple of reasons:
1. The SEC wants to stay away from risking inconsistent decisions.
2. It's already being…— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) June 5, 2023
Why didn’t the SEC flag XRP as a security?
According to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, she received information from her “legal sources” suggesting that the SEC chose not to include XRP in the list to avoid inconsistent decisions.
Furthermore, the SEC decided against labeling XRP as a security in the Binance lawsuit because it is already subject to ongoing litigation in the agency’s legal dispute with Ripple. Terrett mentioned that including XRP as a security in the Binance lawsuit could potentially raise discovery-related concerns.
Lastly, Terrett highlighted that if Ripple were to prevail in its ongoing legal battle, it could potentially undermine the SEC’s case against Binance in the eyes of the public, the press, and Congress.
The XRP lawsuit has been ongoing for over two years, and if Ripple comes out victorious, it could be a big blow to the agency and its stance on cryptocurrencies.
