As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Monday as the 47th president of the United States, he has made a surprising move by launching his own cryptocurrency, the $TRUMP coin. Despite his previous hesitations about cryptocurrency, Trump had expressed his belief that America would become “the crypto capital of the planet” once he returned to Washington.
The timing of the launch has raised some eyebrows. Critics have accused Trump of capitalizing on his imminent presidency to profit from the popularity of cryptocurrencies, particularly meme coins. However, some experts are focusing on how this move could have an impact on ongoing legal battles in the crypto space, particularly the high-profile lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ripple Lawsuit: Could Trump’s $TRUMP Coin Affect the Case?
Attorney Bill Morgan recently discussed thE implications of Trump’s actions on the Ripple lawsuit. Morgan pointed out that the appeal of Judge Torres’ finding against Ripple’s fair notice defense is now looking more promising. For context, the SEC has been pursuing legal action against Ripple, claiming that the company’s sale of XRP violated securities laws. However, Ripple argues that it had no clear notice that its sales of XRP were subject to SEC registration requirements.
Morgan drew attention to Trump’s stance on the issue of cryptocurrencies and investment contracts. While Trump has issued and promoted the $TRUMP meme coin, he does not believe that such tokens should be classified as investment contracts that require SEC registration. This is a key issue in the Ripple lawsuit, where the SEC argues that XRP should be treated as a security, while Ripple maintains that it is a digital asset.
Given that Trump has issued a speculative meme coin without adhering to the traditional regulatory frameworks that the SEC enforces on other tokens, Morgan questioned how the SEC v. Ripple case could continue under these circumstances. He said that Ripple’s sales of XRP, like the promotion of $TRUMP, did not involve any post-sale obligations, which is a point of contention in the Ripple case.
