Ripple Celebrates 3 Years Since Landmark XRP 'Not a Security' Victory
Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty has declared "Happy XRP IS NOT A SECURITY Day," honoring the 3rd anniversary of one of the most significant legal victories in crypto history.
More notably, the milestone marks U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres' July 13, 2023 ruling in the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple, a decision that reshaped the regulatory landscape for digital assets in the United States.
Rather than accepting the SEC’s claim that XRP itself was a security, the court drew a critical distinction between the digital asset and the specific transactions in which it was sold.
Judge Torres ruled that Ripple's programmatic XRP sales on public exchanges were not securities transactions because buyers had no direct relationship with Ripple and could not reasonably expect profits solely from the company's efforts.
Although the court found Ripple's institutional XRP sales violated securities laws, it made clear that XRP itself is not inherently a security.
The ruling quickly became a landmark precedent for the crypto industry, weakening the SEC's broader legal strategy and influencing subsequent digital asset cases. It also intensified calls for Congress to establish a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies instead of relying on enforcement actions and litigation.
XRP Holders Helped Shape Landmark Ripple Ruling, Says John Deaton
Crypto attorney John Deaton recently acknowledged that the steadfast backing of more than 75,000 XRP holders was instrumental in helping Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen withstand years of SEC pressure during the regulator's landmark lawsuit against the company.
He noted that Judge Torres cited not only his amicus brief but also nearly 4,000 affidavits from XRP holders, one of the few exhibits specifically referenced in the court's summary judgment.
Deaton further pointed out that the judge referenced an argument he made during the LBRY case concerning secondary-market sales of digital assets.
In his Ripple brief, he urged the court to explicitly recognize that XRP itself is not a security, arguing that digital tokens are simply software code and should not automatically assume the legal status of the transactions in which they are sold.
Three years later, the ruling in the Ripple vs. SEC case remains one of the most consequential decisions in crypto law, widely viewed as a turning point that continues to shape the debate over digital asset regulation in the U.S.
