By Muhammad Ali Jalwana
The ongoing battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the cryptocurrency industry took another twist this week, as Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Stuart Alderoty, called out the regulatory body for mischaracterizing crypto assets as securities. The criticism comes after the SEC’s amendment to its lawsuit against Binance, in which the regulator apologized for confusing footnotes that referred to “crypto asset securities.”
https://twitter.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1834447203680825809
Alderoty and Coinbase’s CLO Paul Grewal took issue with the SEC’s inconsistent terminology, which they argue has no legal standing. The term “crypto asset securities,“ used by the SEC, suggests that cryptocurrencies are inherently securities, a claim that the crypto community has hotly disputed.
Ripple’s CLO Critiques SEC’s Contradictions
Alderoty’s comments are mostly about how the SEC’s method has changed. He said the regulator’s position in 2024 differs from in 2017. This shows how the story changes, confusing court cases involving crypto, such as Ripple’s lawsuit. He said that in a tweet, the SEC admitted that the word “crypto asset security” is not real. This made it sound like the agency was using the phrase to support its claim that some crypto assets, like XRP, are investment contracts.
https://twitter.com/s_alderoty/status/1834464168399044842
“The SEC’s use of the term has no legal foundation and creates unnecessary confusion in the market,” Alderoty stated, calling for a more transparent and consistent regulatory approach.
SEC Acknowledges Misstep in Binance Lawsuit
The SEC apologized for the confusion its language in the Binance case caused, responding to growing criticism. In the lawsuit’s footnotes, the regulator explained how it used “crypto-asset securities” and changed the language. However, for many in the industry, the damage to the SEC’s reputation had already been done when it said it “regrets any confusion” the term caused.
Crypto legal experts, like Alderoty and Grewal, say that this language could mislead judges and juries in future cases about crypto, which could affect the cryptocurrency market as a whole.
https://twitter.com/s_alderoty/status/1830644070638850285
Technical Analysis: XRP Poised for a Rally?
According to market experts, the price of XRP may rise even more in the days to come. In the past few months, the token’s price has been stuck in a narrow range between $0.6586 and $0.4319. However, new technical signs point to a possible rally.
Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows good momentum when green histogram bars are above the neutral line as much as a 9% rise is expected for XRP, with $0.6217 as the goal. This is where the upper limit of the Fair Value Gap (FVG) appears on the daily chart of XRP/USDT. If the price decreases, it might find support in the FVG range between $0.5337 and $0.5428. This is where the altcoin has generally found support in August and September.
The Bigger Picture: Legal Clarity for XRP
Court rulings can affect XRP classification, so traders are interested in legislative battles. In July, a U.S. court declared that XRP bought or sold on secondary marketplaces or exchanges lacked investment contract status. This made XRP abundantly evident that it was not a security tool. For Ripple and the crypto community, the decision was quite a victory. Still, the case is not closed since the SEC is still attempting to control the sector.
Chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty of Ripple has often emphasized that everyone in the crypto space, not only Ripple, depends on well-defined rules. Some have claimed that the SEC occasionally breaks policies. For Ripple and the direction of US crypto laws going forward, this court case is absolutely crucial.
