2 October 2023
A pro-XRP lawyer has highlighted more casualties and negative impacts the regulatory authority has inflicted on XRP and its investors as well as individuals and businesses associated with the cryptocurrency.
So while Ripple has stated it has lost over $200 million in its fight against the US SEC, it seems that is not the only loss that has been incurred in the drawn-out battle.
SEC Allegedly Damaged 75K XRP Followers
John E. Deaton, a pro-XRP lawyer has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to publicly admonish the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its series of legal actions and enforcements against XRP, the native token of Ripple Labs.
Deaton has been a strong advocate for XRP since its fight against the US SEC began in 2020, and the cryptocurrency enthusiast and lawyer has actively participated in the community, airing out his views in defense of the cryptocurrency and its value as a global payment asset.
In a recent post, Deaton stated that the US SEC has negatively affected thousands of XRP investors and users and these people have been protesting against the SEC’s actions toward the ecosystem for three years.
“The SEC harmed a lot of innocent people in the process. 75K investors, users, developers, and small businesses have been screaming the above for 3 years,” Deaton stated.
According to a civil filing, the SEC has destroyed more than $15 billion worth of assets owned by innocent holders of XRP who had acquired the token on secondary marketplaces.
Ripple And SEC Legal Battle Developments
RealClearPolicy (RCPC), an American policy website, recently published an article titled “The SEC is not King” on Thursday, September 30.
In an X repost, Deaton acknowledged the article which highlighted significant aspects of the Ripple and SEC legal case from when the regulatory body filed a lawsuit against the crypto firm earlier in 2020, alleging that Ripple was selling unregistered security offerings.
Ripple had aggressively defended itself against the SEC and achieved a partial victory after Judge Analisa Torres ruled in favor of Ripple and rejected the SEC’s allegations that sales of XRP tokens on exchanges are security sales.
In a possible attempt to salvage its reputation and also gain the upper hand against XRP, the SEC filed an interlocutory appeal to reevaluate the Judge’s ruling and its case against the token. In light of this, Deaton published a blog post titled “The Irony of Interlocutory Appeal” last week, castigating the SEC’s appeal scheme to potentially delay the litigation.
The US SEC has also been struck by a blow that may put a dent in its case with XRP. The defense team of Ripple recently exposed a pile of internal SEC documents and secret positions about the token which could significantly undermine the SEC’s argument that XRP should be treated as a security.
This recent development has thrown a curveball in the ongoing legal battle between the US SEC and XRP, raising questions about the SEC’s intentions for the crypto industry and its method of handling cryptocurrencies.