U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler recently expressed his displeasure with a court ruling regarding the XRP token, as reported Bloomberg on July 17.
Gensler said he was “disappointed” by Judge Analisa Torres’ statement that sales of XRP tokens on retail exchanges did not constitute securities offerings. The judge ruled on July 13 that programmatic sales and freebies of XRP were not securities.
Conversely, Gensler said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling regarding Ripple’s sales of the XRP token to institutional investors. Judge Torres ruled that, unlike retail sales, Ripple’s institutional sales were unregistered securities offerings. The company directly offered the asset to these investors via written contracts.
Gensler also suggested his agency look into the outcome of the case, as he said the SEC is “still reviewing it and evaluating that opinion.”
He also clarified that the SEC will engage with other companies. He said:
“We will continue to try to bring into compliance companies that may not be compliant – without prejudging any of them – and try to ensure that we protect the investing public.”
Gensler made the above statements at an event hosted by the National Press Club, according to Bloomberg’s latest report.
XRP benefited from the outcome of the case
The SEC originally sued Ripple in 2020, when it alleged the company broke the rules by selling XRP without securities registration. Ripple chose not to settle with the SEC and instead opted to fight the agency in court.
Following the favorable judgment for Ripple, the XRP token has seen a significant resurgence. In the week ending July 17, XRP recorded a gain of more than 50%, cementing its position as the fourth-largest asset by market capitalization.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also made positive statements about the result, while at least one exchange – Coinbase – decided to put XRP back on sale.
However, Ripple’s legal challenges may not be fully resolved, with some speculation that the SEC may pursue further legal action despite its recent setback. According to former SEC member John Reed Stark, it’s possible the latest ruling will be overturned.
Gary Gensler’s “disappointed” post in Ripple decision regarding retail investors appeared first on CryptoSlate.
