SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler, expresses his disappointment following the judgment in favor of Ripple (XRP) where Judge Torres said cryptocurrency is not considered a financial security.
In a recent court case between Ripple at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)the financial market regulator in the United States, Ripple won a partial victory.
Gary Gensler’s disappointment with court ruling in Ripple case
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has expressed disappointment with a district court ruling in Ripple’s case against the SEC, specifically with respect to retail investors.
However, he said he was satisfied with the part of the judgment which concluded that institutional token sales violated federal securities laws.
At an event hosted by the National Press Club in Washington DC, Gensler said:
“We welcome this decision which recognizes the importance of protecting institutional investors. While we are disappointed with what has been said about retail investors, we are still reviewing the court’s opinion and evaluating it.”
Partial victory for Ripple against the SEC
Ripple achieved a partial victory last week in his fight against the SEC, with a court ruling finding that institutional sales of the tokens violated federal securities laws. While sales on exchanges and programmatic sales could not be qualified as sales of securities.
Indeed, the SEC cannot say definitively that speculative investors had “a reasonable expectation of profit from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others”.
Asked what else the SEC needed to see to be confident about Bitcoin ETFs, Gensler declined to answerciting ongoing litigation and the need for him as SEC Chairman not to prejudge different claims submitted to the regulatory body.
In response to a question about the SEC appearing to regulate through enforcement rather than regulations, as does the European Union with the regulation of crypto asset markets (Mica)Gensler said:
“We have some rules in place, including viewing and commenting rules and a special license for specialty brokers.”
The Coming Implications in the Ripple Case
Although Ripple achieved this partial victory, the SEC continues to evaluate the court’s opinion and determine what action to take as a result of this decision. This case is being closely watched by the cryptocurrency community and investors, as it raises key questions about the regulation and legal status of digital tokens.
In the coming months, it will be interesting to see how the SEC will react to this decision and whether this will influence its position vis-à-vis cryptocurrencies in general.
Industry players and keen observers eagerly await further developments in this matter, as they could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency industry and the regulations surrounding it.
Sources: Coindesk, Reuters