The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC continues and recently, Ripple requested a due date of April 16, 2025, for its brief in the ongoing case. This comes after the SEC filed its opening appeal brief, signaling that the regulator is not backing down.
Many had hoped that the SEC would step back after the court’s earlier ruling, which found that certain sales of XRP were not considered securities. However, as expected, the SEC has decided to appeal the decision, arguing that the court made fundamental errors in its ruling.
The SEC claims that digital asset sales on exchanges like XRP should be classified as securities. However, Ripple’s legal team, led by Stuart Alderoty, is confident that the SEC’s appeal will not succeed, and they expect stronger arguments to prevail in court.
Alderoty had dismissed the SEC’s appeal as “just noise.” He said that the appeal merely rehashes arguments that have already failed and predicted that the next administration would likely abandon the case. Ripple remains confident that they will win and that a new era of regulation supportive of innovation is coming.
Attorney Jeremy Hogan, who has been following the case closely, has also criticized the SEC’s appeal. He describes it as “lackluster” and believes the SEC’s arguments are weak. Hogan points out that the SEC still struggles to prove that retail investors expected profits from Ripple’s efforts, especially those who were unaware of the company’s existence. Hogan suggests that it is unlikely the second circuit will rule in favor of the SEC.
