XRP Price Plummets 12% Amid SEC’s Appeal in Ripple Lawsuit
The XRP price has experienced a sharp decline of 12% following the news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an appeal in the ongoing Ripple lawsuit. The SEC is seeking to overturn a previous ruling made by Judge Torres in 2023, which stated that the secondary sales of Ripple’s XRP token did not constitute securities sales.
The judge had determined that XRP did not meet all the criteria required by the SEC’s Howey test to be classified as an investment contract. The filing of the appeal was confirmed by defense lawyer James Filan, who shared the news on social media.
Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, expressed disappointment but not surprise at the SEC’s decision to appeal. He criticized the agency, stating that the appeal only extends an already embarrassing situation for the SEC. Alderoty highlighted that the court had already rejected the SEC’s claim that Ripple acted recklessly, and there were no allegations of fraud or any victims or losses involved.
Alderoty further accused the SEC of engaging in “litigation warfare” against the industry and revealed that Ripple is considering filing a cross-appeal. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also commented on the matter, stating that if SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the regulator were rational, they would have let go of the case long ago. Garlinghouse pledged to continue the fight for as long as necessary, emphasizing that XRP’s non-security status remains unchanged, regardless of the appeal.
The news of the SEC’s appeal has sent shockwaves throughout the XRP community, leading to a significant sell-off and causing the XRP price to plummet by 12% in a single day. On October 2, XRP was trading above $0.60 but dropped to just below $0.53 during early Asian trading on Thursday. This decline has pushed XRP to a three-week low and represents an 84% drop from its all-time high in January 2018, despite recent applications for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).