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ARTICLE · 17 JULY 2023

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SEC vs Ripple Labs Inc: One For The History Books

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Ripple Labs Inc operates the RippleNet and XRP payment protocol and is the issuer of the XRP token. Founded in 2012, the technology was considered by some to be superior to Bitcoin...

MaltaCorporate/Commercial Law
Laurence Alexander
Laurence Alexander
Galyna Podoprikhina
Galyna Podoprikhina
Joseph F. Borg
Joseph F. Borg
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The SEC and the Ripple Effects

Setting the stage

Ripple Labs Inc operates the RippleNet and XRP payment protocol and is the issuer of the XRP token. Founded in 2012, the technology was considered by some to be superior to Bitcoin as a means of exchange with its faster settlement speed and extremely low transaction cost. It embarked on a mission to develop real-economy products via the revolutionary blockchain and was tipped to replace the likes of MoneyGram, Western Union and even potentially rival the SWIFT settlement system.

...And then came along the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") politely put, it threw a spanner in the works in December 2020 when it filed a lawsuit alleging the offering of the XRP token amounted to offering unregistered securities, in turn deeming XRP to be a security. This event sent shockwaves through the industry and had a global impact with investors pondering "Is my token an unregistered security?" and legal commentators

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