Awaiting the Verdict: Ripple vs. SEC Continues to Grip Cryptocurrency World

The crypto community remains on tenterhooks as the prolonged legal clash between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues. Noted commentators have recently shared fresh perspectives on the matter.

Bill Morgan, a renowned legal analyst, underscored that currently, XRP stands as the sole digital asset in the U.S. with clear legal definition – unlike Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH). In his recent post on platform X dated September 24, he emphasized:

“It is well understood by the XRP community that a speech that the SEC itself disowned as reflecting its official position cannot give Bitcoin and Ethereum the legal clarity of a court decision XRP now enjoys. Good that others are starting to realize that fact.”

Morgan’s remarks were in reference to a video shared by XRP enthusiasts, Digital Asset Investor.XRP and RIZ.XRP. In the video, legal luminary Joseph Grundfest, known for his expertise in capital markets, corporate governance, and securities litigation, posited:

“Speeches do not have the force of law, whether the speeches by presidents or by division directors of the SEC. Decisions as to whether Bitcoin and Ether are or are not securities are, as a practical matter, are going to be made by the federal courts if and when the appropriate litigation actually arises.”

Grundfest went on to clarify that “the logic in the speech may be persuasive, or it may not be persuasive, but still, it’s just a speech,” highlighting that for it to have any weight, it would need to be articulated in a court brief, “but it will have no precedential effect. Again, unless the SEC takes formal rule-making action, speeches and other pronouncements by the SEC do not have the force of law.”

He further probed, “Division Director Hinman’s analysis depends upon his understanding of the state of facts regarding Bitcoin and Ether as of June 2018. What was his understanding of the state of facts? We don’t know. Nothing in the speech has the Division Director explain what it is about Bitcoin or Ether that leads him to the conclusion that it’s sufficiently decentralized.”

At the time of reporting, the XRP token, which is central to this litigation, was trading at $0.496199, reflecting a dip of 2.35% for the day. Over the past week, it marked a rise of 0.78% but decreased by 4.82% over the last month, based on data from September 25.