Cryptocurrency lobby group Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC) has received approval from a U.S. federal court to be an amicus curiae (Latin for friend of court) in the lawsuit that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed in 2020 against Ripple Labs.
See related article: Ripple objects to SEC’s relief suggestion in XRP lawsuit
Fast facts
- Judge Analisa Torres of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday granted the CDC’s motion for leave to file an amicus curiae brief, which was then submitted on the same day.
- CDC said last week that it does not take a view in its brief on whether Ripple’s XRP sales are securities transactions in the brief, but it lays out the applicable legal precedent for the initial offering of digital assets and “makes the court aware that no federal law or regulation governs the legal characterization of a digital asset recorded on a blockchain.”
- An amicus curiae brief is typically filed by a person or organization that is not a party to a case but would petition the court for permission to submit a brief intending to influence the court’s decision.
- In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple alleging that its sale of XRP – the native token of XRP Ledger that powers Ripple’s payment network – constituted an offering of unregistered securities worth over US$1.38 billion. The SEC also named Ripple’s executive chairman Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse as co-defendants for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s moves.
- On Tuesday, Ripple objected to the SEC’s suggestion that it may seek additional time and pages if other amici curiae submit briefs, and said the SEC’s reaction is “yet another transparent attempt to further delay resolution of this case and the Court should reject it.”
See related article: SEC, Ripple seek summary judgment in attempt to speed up XRP lawsuit