Renowned Attorney Fred Rispoli Unpacks Ripple Executives’ Legal Victory Against SEC

• Judge Torres dismissed charges against Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen.
• Dismissal focused specifically on the Institutional Sales claim.
• Fred Rispoli shared insights, noting the potential for some claims to be revived if the SEC appeals.

A recent decision by Judge Torres of the U.S. District Court in New York has sparked significant conversation in the cryptocurrency community. After a lengthy three-year court battle, charges against Ripple’s chief figures, Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen, were officially dismissed. This ended the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) longstanding claims tied to Ripple’s XRP sales practices.

Breaking Down the Ruling

Fred Rispoli, a renowned lawyer in the cryptocurrency industry, shared his insights on X, the popular social platform. According to Rispoli, the details of the dismissal were intriguing. The stipulation only dismissed the Institutional Sales claim against Garlinghouse and Larsen.

Claims regarding Programmatic Sales and Other Distributions had previously been ruled in Ripple’s favor and thus were no longer applicable. Yet, if the SEC decided to appeal and succeeded in overturning these transaction types, the possibility of revival exists.

The Permanent Shield Against Future Claims

Importantly, the recent dismissal concerning Institutional Sales was made “with prejudice.” This essentially provides a shield for both Garlinghouse and Larsen, ensuring they cannot face future lawsuits based on the same theory.

Rispoli speculates that this specific focus on Institutional Sales might not have been an oversight. He suggests it might hint at the SEC’s future intentions to wrap up this case permanently, instead of pursuing it further.

The Ripple-SEC Showdown: A Brief Look Back

The SEC’s initial confrontation with Ripple began due to accusations that the sale of XRP on cryptocurrency exchanges violated securities law. This confrontation had substantial consequences. Ripple’s business faced significant hurdles in the U.S., as major cryptocurrency exchanges removed XRP from their offerings.

After this lengthy battle, on October 4th, Judge Analisa Torres delivered a decisive victory for Ripple. She declared that the SEC had failed to demonstrate essential legal questions or significant disagreements on her ruling. Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, didn’t hold back his feelings, taking to social media to both celebrate the victory and criticize the SEC for its approach, hinting at a misuse of resources on unnecessary legal battles.