Ripple Labs

SEC argues recent court case weakens Ripple Labs’ ‘fair notice’ defense

The SEC filed a letter supporting its motion for summary judgment against Ripple Labs, citing a separate court case it had recently won.

A recent court judgment further weakens a key defense made by technology firm Ripple Labs in its ongoing legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator has claimed to a federal judge.

In an April 11 letter to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres — who is overseeing the SEC vs. Ripple Labs case — the SEC highlighted the judge’s opinion in a separate enforcement action it won against investment advisory firm Commonwealth Equity Services.

In that case, it was deemed that a longstanding court precedent provides sufficient “fair notice.”

The SEC argued that the longstanding supreme court precedent, which gave rise to the Howey test — which is used to determine what constitutes a security — provides Ripple Labs with fair notice as to what a security is, just as the precedent referred to in the Commonwealth case had.

The SEC added its case with Commonwealth provides “additional authority” for rejecting Ripple’s fair notice defense.

Related: XRP price rally stalls as SEC vs. Ripple ruling drags on — 25% drop ahead?

Ripple’s argument that the SEC had failed to provide it with fair notice before suing it for committing securities fraud in December 2020 is regarded as one of its key defenses.

While many observers, such as crypto exchange Coinbase believe the defense to be a winner, legal experts such as John Deaton have a different opinion.

Deaton has previously noted that the fair notice defense only comes into play if the judge decides Ripple’s XRP (XRP) token was a security at any time between 2013 and the present. Deaton believes Ripple Lab’s best chance lies in convincing the judge that XRP is not a security based on the Howey test.

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Is Ripple poised to settle with SEC this week? Crypto Twitter weighs in

Former U.S. congressional candidate January Walker said a potential settlement would be a loss for the “whole world” and Web3.

Rumors suggesting the legal battle between Ripple Labs and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is coming to an end have continued to circulate, prompting the crypto community to weigh in on the matter.

Speculation is rife about a potential settlement as early as Dec. 15, which was shared in a Dec. 10 ask-me-anything (AMA) with Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, noting he had heard rumors that the case would be settled on Dec. 15 — he later reiterated that it was only rumored and that he didn’t necessarily believe it to be true.

Meanwhile, Cointelegraph has also come to understand that the rumors are unsubstantiated.

Despite this, there is still plenty of commentary about what a settlement would mean for Ripple and the wider crypto industry.

In a Dec. 12 Twitter post, pro-crypto former U.S. congressional candidate January Walker opined that an unfavorable settlement from Ripple would be a “loss for the whole world & WEB3,” adding:

“The world follows the actions of the USA, and how the government handles one of us, sets precedence for how they handle all of us,” Walker said, calling for the industry to “work together.”

David Gokhshtein, the founder of blockchain-focused media company Gokhshtein Media, weighed in as well, commenting in a Dec. 10 Twitter post: “We need Ripple to win this case and not settle,” which he said would be a worst-case scenario. 

“Worse case scenario is Ripple settles, but I don’t know if they’ll provide clarity for the entire industry,” he added.

During the Dec. 10 AMA, Hoskinson also said that a settlement could have “catastrophic implications for the industry one way or the other.”

Meanwhile, crypto attorney Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan, says there are several possible outcomes. In a Dec. 10 YouTube video, Hogan told his 157,000 subscribers that he thought there was roughly a 50% chance that Ripple wins, but a “110.6% chance of something happening shortly.”

The lawyer predicted that if Ripple wins, the most likely reason would be “it had no legal obligation to purchasers of XRP after the sale occurred, no post sale obligations, in other words there can be no investment contract without an investment contract.”

“The evidence is clear in the Ripple case that there is no ongoing legal relationship between Ripple and XRP purchasers. There’s just none, and the SEC has failed to address that problem,” he added.

However, he also backed an earlier Nov. 4 prediction by defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor James Filan that the case will be decided on or before March 31, 2023, calling it a “proclamation from a legal God.”

Related: Investors increasingly confident of Ripple’s victory over SEC: CoinShares

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told panelists at the Oct. 11 DC Fintech Week conference that he expects the case against the firm to conclude during the first half of 2023 but admitted that it was hard to predict.

He has previously said Ripple would consider a settlement with the SEC on the condition XRP is not classified as a security.

Ripple’s allies expand: Coinbase files amicus brief in fight against SEC

Crypto exchange Coinbase has filed documentation asking permission to help Ripple Labs in its ongoing legal battle with the SEC.

United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase has become the latest organization to stand behind Ripple Labs in its legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could wrap up as soon as the first half of 2023.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer in a series of tweets on Oct. 31 said the exchange had asked the presiding judge for permission to file an amicus brief, saying the case was a “textbook” definition of “just how critical fair notice is.”

An amicus brief, known as a “friend of the court,” is a legal document containing advice or information relating to a court case from an organization or individual that is not directly involved in the case.

Grewal added that a fundamental protection under the U.S. Constitution is that authorities can’t “condemn conduct as a violation of law without providing fair notice that the conduct is illegal.”

“By suing sellers of XRP tokens after making public statements signaling that those transactions were lawful, the SEC has lost sight of this bedrock principle,” he added.

If approved, Coinbase will join the ranks of the non-profit organization Investor Choice Advocates Network and crypto mobile app SpendTheBits which were granted permission to file amicus briefs in October.

Related: ‘Well worth the fight’ — Ripple counsel confirms Hinman docs are in their hands

The filing also comes on the same day cryptocurrency lawyer John Deaton filed a motion seeking permission to submit an amicus brief on behalf of the XRP “decentralized community.”

It also follows days after crypto advocacy group the Blockchain Association also announced its support for Ripple on Oct. 28 by announcing it had filed its ow amicus brief, noting that SEC chairman Gary Gensler’s views on securities laws could have “devastating effects” on the space.

Ripple Labs has been caught up in a nearly two-year-long legal saga with the SEC that regards the sale of its Ripple (XRP) tokens as unregistered securities sales.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on an Oct. 11 panel at DC Fintech Week said he thinks the case could be wrapped up by the half of 2023 but admitted it would be hard to predict an exact end date.

Ripple’s allies expand: Coinbase files amicus brief in fight against SEC

Crypto exchange Coinbase has filed documentation asking permission to help Ripple Labs in its ongoing legal battle with the SEC.

United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase has become the latest organization to stand behind Ripple Labs in its legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could wrap up as soon as the first half of 2023.

Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said in a series of tweets on Oct. 31 that the exchange had asked the presiding judge for permission to file an amicus brief, saying the case was a “textbook” definition of “just how critical fair notice is.”

An amicus brief, known as a “friend of the court,” is a legal document containing advice or information relating to a court case from an organization or individual that is not directly involved in the case.

Grewal added that a fundamental protection under the U.S. Constitution is that authorities can’t “condemn conduct as a violation of law without providing fair notice that the conduct is illegal.”

“By suing sellers of XRP tokens after making public statements signaling that those transactions were lawful, the SEC has lost sight of this bedrock principle,” he added.

If approved, Coinbase will join the ranks of the non-profit organization Investor Choice Advocates Network and crypto mobile app SpendTheBits which were granted permission to file amicus briefs in October.

Related: ‘Well worth the fight’ — Ripple counsel confirms Hinman docs are in their hands

The filing also comes on the same day cryptocurrency lawyer John Deaton filed a motion seeking permission to submit an amicus brief on behalf of the XRP “decentralized community,” along with briefs submitted by crypto advocacy body the Crypto Council for Innovation and venture capital firm Valhil Capital.

It also follows days after crypto advocacy group the Blockchain Association also announced its support for Ripple on Oct. 28 by announcing it had filed its own amicus brief, noting that SEC chairman Gary Gensler’s views on securities laws could have “devastating effects” on the space.

Ripple Labs has been caught up in a nearly two-year-long legal saga with the SEC that regards the sale of its XRP (XRP) tokens as unregistered securities sales.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on an Oct. 11 panel at DC Fintech Week said he thinks the case could be wrapped up by the half of 2023 but admitted it would be hard to predict an exact end date.

Update (Nov. 1, 5:55 am UTC): Added information regarding further amicus briefs submitted supporting Ripple Labs.

Ripple reports XRP holdings below 50% for the first time

The firm emphasized that its rather large XRP ownership is decreasing and that it only “operates 4 out of 130+ validator nodes on the XRPL.”

Ripple Lab’s XRP (XRP) token holdings have dropped below 50% of the total circulating supply for the first time in the company’s history.

Ripple has faced criticism in the past by some that have raised questions over the firm’s significantly large ownership of XRP, arguing that it gives the company centralized control over its XRP Ledger (XRPL).

In a Q3 report published on Oct. 27, Ripple once again refuted that criticism while also pointing out that its XRP holdings continue to decline, falling below 50 billion tokens, or 50% of the total supply.

“Critics have pointed to the company’s XRP ownership as an indicator that the XRP Ledger is controlled by Ripple. This is not true,” Ripple stated, adding that:

“The XRP Ledger (XRPL) uses Federated Byzantine Consensus to validate transactions, add new features, and secure the network, which means that each validator node gets one vote regardless of how much XRP they own.”

The firm went on to state that it “currently operates 4 out of 130+ validator nodes on the XRPL.”

Ripple disclosed in the report that its total net sales (sales minus purchases) of XRP for Q3 was down to $310.68 million compared with $408.9 million in Q2.

“Ripple has continued to sell XRP only in connection with ODL transactions, and ODL volumes have ramped up as Ripple’s ODL [On-Demand Liquidity] business expanded globally,” the report reads.

One of Ripple’s key business offerings is its cross-border payments service ODL, and the company outlined that it continued to expand the product in Q3 via a partnership with forex firm Travelex to facilitate transactions between Brazil and Mexico.

Related: Ripple’s lead engineer to exit after nearly a decade with the firm

SEC battle update

Ripple also commented on its lengthy legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after scoring a big win relating to the elusive William Hinman documents earlier this month.

The documents in question relate to a speech from former SEC division director Hinman in which he describes the regulatory status of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in terms that may help Ripple’s case, and contradict the SEC’s arguments:

“Since Hinman’s market moving speech, the SEC continues to deliberately create ambiguity, instead of providing clear guidance, and uses that ambiguity to bring enforcement actions to stifle crypto innovation in the United States.”

“In terms of next steps, in November, the SEC and Ripple will file reply briefs, and, from there, await the Judge’s decision on the motions,” the report adds.

XRP is down 2.4% over the past 24 hours to sit at $0.46 at the time of writing but has gained 3.7% over the past week. Unlike a host of other major assets that hit new all-time highs last year, XRP’s peak was almost five years ago at $3.40 on Jan. 7, 2018.

Ripple’s lead engineer to exit after nearly a decade with the firm

Nik Bougalis primarily worked on open-source code projects for the payments-focused XRP Ledger, with the recent push to introduce NFTs being a key implementation of note.

Ripple Labs’ director of engineering Nik Bougalis is exiting the firm after nearly 10 years, becoming the latest of crypto’s long-time serving executives to depart from the space. 

In an Oct. 22 tweet, Bougalis noted that: “my decade-long journey at Ripplehas been a fantastic (if exhausting and all-consuming) one. I got to work on a project that I love, towards a goal I believe in. But that journey will be coming to an end in a few weeks.”

Interestingly, the Ripple developer noted that he will not be joining a blockchain project or company next.

“As for what’s next? I’ll talk about it when it’s time, but I am NOT joining another blockchain project/company, nor am I doing NFTs or DeFi,” he said.

Bougalis has a lengthy background in software engineering and cryptography, and while at Ripple, he primarily worked on open-source code projects for the payments XRP Ledger, also known as XRPL.

One of Ripple’s key recent developments that Bougalis has overseen is the XLS-20 amendment which will see the introduction of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to XRPL. While there were a few initial bugs that reportedly needed ironing out, the upgrade is reportedly set to go through in early November.

The cryptographer went on to state his thoughts that Ripple will do just fine without him.

“Its long-term health and success isn’t predicated on any one person. I’m confident that it will be just fine, thanks to talented and passionate individuals who contribute and participate, each in their own way.”

Related: Ripple’s $250M fund backs Web3 projects focused on ‘entertainment and media’

The blockchain sector has seen a number of top figures step away from their companies this month, such as the chief financial officer of NFT marketplace OpenSea, Brian Roberts who revealed on Oct. 7 that he is exiting the firm.

On Oct. 21, Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood also called an end to his time at blockchain infrastructure company Parity Technologies, stating that it was not a position where he saw himself finding “eternal happiness.”

Other high-profile execs that followed the same route over the past few months include FTX US president Brett Harrison, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor and Genesis Trading CEO Michael Moro.

On a broader front, Ripple recently scored a notable win in its long-running legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged securities violations with XRP (XRP).

On Oct. 21, Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty revealed on Oct. 21 that the firm finally got its hands on important documents that could significantly strengthen its defense against SEC.

The documents in question relate to a 2018 speech by former SEC division director William Hinman relating to the regulatory status of Ether (ETH), which the government agency has fought long and hard to keep under wraps during the legal dispute.

Ripple, SEC case heads for conclusion after ‘summary judgment’ filed

Ripple argued that XRP profits came from “market forces of supply and demand” rather than any contract between Ripple and XRP token holders.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have both called for a federal judge to make an immediate ruling on whether Ripple’s XRP sales violated U.S. securities laws.

In separate motions filed on Sept. 17 by Ripple and the SEC, both have called for a summary judgment in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. 

Summary judgments are submitted to the courts when a party involved believes there’s enough evidence at hand to make a ruling without the need to proceed to trial.

Both parties have called on Judge Analisa Torres to make an immediate ruling as to whether Ripple’s XRP sales violated U.S. securities laws. Ripple has argued that the SEC has run out of answers to prove XRP sales constituted an “investment contract,” while the SEC has held strong on its beliefs that it does. 

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in a Twitter post on Sept. 17 said the filings made it clear that the SEC “isn’t interested in applying the law.”

“They want to remake it all in an impermissible effort to expand their jurisdiction far beyond the authority granted to them by Congress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty noted that “after two years of litigation” the SEC is “unable to identify any contract for investment” and “cannot satisfy a single prong of the Supreme Court Howey test.”

In its motion for summary judgment, Ripple claimed that the SEC’s case “boils down to an impermissibly open-ended assertion of jurisdiction over any transfer of an asset.”

The motion also argued that the SEC cannot establish that XRP token holders could not “reasonably expect profits” based on Ripple’s efforts as there were no contract obligations between Ripple and XRP token holders.

On the other hand, the SEC’s own motion for summary judgment argued that there can be an “investment contract” without a contract, any rights granted to the purchaser, and without any obligations to the issuer.

But Ripple argued in its motion “that is not and should not be the law, because without these essential features there is nothing to which the Howey test can sensibly be applied.”

Related: The SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit: Everything you need to know

Ripple instead pointed to profits coming from “market forces of supply and demand,” something that the SEC “conceded” according to the Ripple motion.

The significance of this admission was highlighted by U.S. Attorney Jeremy Hogan in a Sept. 17 post on Twitter, stating that “these concessions are perfect for a summary judgment.”

Community reaction

The filing of the Ripple and SEC motions brought about mostly positive sentiment from the XRP community, with one Twitter user believing “the end is near”:

The motion for summary judgment comes nearly two years after the SEC sued Ripple, former CEO Christian Larsen and current CEO Brad Garlinghouse in Dec. 2020 for allegedly raising $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales through XRP.

If the court executes the summary judgment, the court ruling will have a profound impact on determining which cryptocurrencies constitute a security under U.S. securities laws.

The XRP token rose to highs not seen since July following the motion filing — reaching nearly $0.40, but has fallen slightly since then and is currently priced at $0.34, according to CoinGecko.

Ripple, SEC case heads for conclusion after ‘summary judgment’ filed

Ripple argued that XRP profits came from “market forces of supply and demand” rather than any contract between Ripple and XRP tokenholders.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have both called for a federal judge to make an immediate ruling on whether Ripple’s XRP sales violated U.S. securities laws.

In separate motions filed on Saturday by Ripple and the SEC, both have called for a summary judgment in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. 

Summary judgments are submitted to the courts when a party involved believes there’s enough evidence at hand to make a ruling without the need to proceed to trial.

Both parties have called on Judge Analisa Torres to make an immediate ruling as to whether Ripple’s XRP sales violated U.S. securities laws. Ripple has argued that the SEC has run out of answers to prove XRP sales constituted an “investment contract,” while the SEC has held strong on its beliefs that it does. 

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, in a Twitter post on Saturday, said the filings made it clear that the SEC “isn’t interested in applying the law.”

“They want to remake it all in an impermissible effort to expand their jurisdiction far beyond the authority granted to them by Congress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty noted that “after two years of litigation,” the SEC is “unable to identify any contract for investment” and “cannot satisfy a single prong of the Supreme Court Howey test.”

In its motion for summary judgment, Ripple claimed that the SEC’s case “boils down to an impermissibly open-ended assertion of jurisdiction over any transfer of an asset.”

The motion also argued that the SEC cannot establish that XRP tokenholders could not “reasonably expect profits” based on Ripple’s efforts as there were no contract obligations between Ripple and XRP tokenholders.

On the other hand, the SEC’s own motion for summary judgment argued that there can be an “investment contract” without a contract, any rights granted to the purchaser and without any obligations to the issuer.

But, Ripple argued in its motion, “that is not and should not be the law, because without these essential features there is nothing to which the Howey test can sensibly be applied.”

Related: The SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit: Everything you need to know

Ripple instead pointed to profits coming from “market forces of supply and demand,” something that the SEC “conceded,” according to the Ripple motion.

The significance of this admission was highlighted by U.S. Attorney Jeremy Hogan in a Saturday post on Twitter, stating that “these concessions are perfect for a summary judgment.”

Community reaction

The filing of the Ripple and SEC motions brought about mostly positive sentiment from the XRP community, with one Twitter user believing “the end is near:”

The motion for summary judgment comes nearly two years after the SEC sued Ripple, former CEO Christian Larsen and current CEO Brad Garlinghouse in Dec. 2020 for allegedly raising $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales through XRP.

If the court executes the summary judgment, the court ruling will have a profound impact on determining which cryptocurrencies constitute a security under U.S. securities laws.

The XRP token rose to highs not seen since July following the motion filing — reaching nearly $0.40, but has fallen slightly since then and is currently priced at $0.34, according to CoinGecko.

DeFi needs a ‘killer app’ to go next level, says Ripple exec

A panel at the Blockchain Futurist Conference was asked about the future of decentralized finance and what was needed to be done to bring about mainstream adoption.

A “killer app” for consumers is what will be needed to bring the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector to a level that draws in a mainstream audience, said Ripple Lab’s head of DeFi markets Boris Alergant.

Alergant made the comments during a panel at the Blockchain Futurist Conference titled “The Future of Decentralized Finance” on Tuesday, which was covered by Cointelegraph reporters on the ground in Toronto, Canada.

Alongside Alergant, Aventus Ventures CEO Kevin Hobbs, FLUIDEFI co-founder and CEO Lisa Loud, and Teller Finance CEO and co-founder Ryan Berkin also featured on the panel.

The general sentiment among the panelists was that centralized finance institutions will ultimately push DeFi toward mainstream adoption. Alergant suggested that growth will likely come from a user-friendly CeFi app that offers exposure to DeFi services:

“For an average user, you tell your mom how to go out and stake on Aave or ETH […] and this is a process. She doesn’t know how to use MetaMask, but she wants to generate that yield somehow. She wants to transact but she doesn’t know how to do it.”

“So I think institutional adoption is where it’s going, and the institutions are what is going to enable […] that killer app for consumers to really bring crypto and DeFi to the next level.”

FLUIDEFI co-founder and CEO Loud expressed a similar view, noting how the everyday person eventually adopted the internet despite not understanding the internet protocol suite, also known as TCP/IP:

“We all use the internet right? The internet was a paradigm shift for us, but we don’t know how to use TCP/IP. Right now, everybody who uses DeFi knows how to use the protocols, it’s not sustainable, it’s not a good model for adoption.”

“If we look at two years, I see institutions investing more in DeFi and I see companies making simpler user experiences,” she added.

The Ripple executive also outlined that the DeFi sector will soon work hand in hand with the CeFi sector to provide financial services to customers.

“DeFi will ultimately supplement and complement CeFi. In the end you don’t really care if a trade is done through decentralized means in a centralized exchange. I just want the best damn execution,” he said.

Related: Decentralized finance faces multiple barriers to mainstream adoption

The Blockchain Futurist Conference is the largest annual blockchain and crypto conference in Toronto, Canada, and is running until Wednesday, marking the fifth year of the event. This year’s event is expected to see Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin speak there despite appearing at the Korea Blockchain Week only two days ago.

Ripple counsel slams SEC for trying to bulldoze and bankrupt crypto

“Like a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security,” claims Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty.

Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty has slammed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for trying to “bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt” crypto innovation in the U.S. in the name of expanding its own regulatory territory:

“By bringing enforcement actions–or threats of potential enforcement–the SEC intends to bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt crypto innovation in the U.S., all in the name of impermissibly expanding its own jurisdictional limits.”

Alderoty shared his views on Monday amid an ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the regulator, which he says is part of the “SEC’s assault on all crypto in the U.S.” by treating every cryptocurrency as a security:

“Like a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security.”

Ripple Labs has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020, when the securities regulator filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple executives had used Ripple (XRP) tokens to raise funds for the company starting in 2013, claiming it was unregistered security at the time.

Ripple fought back, claiming that a 2018 speech delivered by Robert Hinman, then-Director of Corporation Finance for the SEC, had categorized Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) and by-association XRP as a non-security due to being “sufficiently decentralized.”

Ripple argued that the speech was in contradiction with the SEC’s claims against Ripple and the XRP token, but the SEC countered the argument by claiming that the speech was the director’s own personal views and not the official view of the regulator. This nuance has been one of the most pivotal aspects of the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit.

“Despite disclaimers that the speech was Hinman’s personal opinion and ‘not necessarily that of the Commission,” the market took Hinman’s speech to heart,” wrote Alderoty.

“For Ripple, Hinman’s speech affirmed the conclusion that XRP — a cryptocurrency that exists on an open, permissionless, decentralized blockchain ledger — was a commodity and/or a virtual currency. Certainly not a security,” he added.

Related: Brad Garlinghouse says NFTs ‘underhyped,’ sees new use cases | Cointelegraph interview

Alderoty said the speech epitomized SEC’s deliberate muddying of the regulatory waters for crypto:

“Here in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deliberately muddied the regulatory waters for crypto […] To unlock crypto’s true potential, we need to finally clean up this regulatory sludge.”

During a Washington Post event on June 8, United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand agreed that most cryptocurrencies would likely be classed as securities under the Howey Test, with the obvious exception of Bitcoin and Ether.

Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC), took a slightly different view, saying that while there are “probably hundreds” of coins that replicate security coins, there are also many commodity coins, such as BTC and ETH, that would be regulated by his commission.

The court battle between Ripple and SEC is expected to set a precedent for the treatment of cryptocurrencies, particularly altcoins under U.S. securities and commodities laws.