Ripple's XRP token witnessed an impressive 61% surge following a recent ruling in the ongoing SEC lawsuit in 13 July 2023.
Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Christian Larsen faced SEC allegations of unregistered sales of $1.4 billion worth of XRP tokens.
US District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is "not necessarily a security on its face," impacting Ripple and the wider crypto industry.
The judge's decision hinged on whether XRP sales were direct to institutional investors or occurred as secondary sales on crypto exchanges.
Programmatic sales conducted through crypto exchanges were deemed non-investment contracts, a significant win for Ripple.
The court highlighted the absence of evidence that less-sophisticated programmatic buyers shared similar expectations as institutional investors.
The SEC's motion against Garlinghouse and Larsen was denied, as it was unclear whether they knowingly violated securities laws.
Garlinghouse expressed gratitude on Twitter, believing Ripple is on the right side of the law and history, supporting crypto innovation in the US.
The judgment concluded that the institutional sale of XRP tokens violated federal securities laws, as buyers expected to profit. Ripple sold significant XRP amounts to develop its crypto ecosystem.
The ruling caused excitement, with XRP's surge accompanied by gains in crypto-related stocks like Coinbase and Riot Blockchain. Ether and bitcoin also experienced notable increases.
* Please note that this story should not be considered as financial advice.