The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a legal rebuttal to Ripple Labs Inc.’s motion for summary judgment, a day after Ripple took a similar move against the SEC.
See related article: Ripple lawyer says ‘worth the fight’ as SEC hands over Hinman files in court case
Fast facts
- The SEC wrote in a document filed on Friday that Ripple’s motion should be denied “because the undisputed evidence shows that defendants engaged in unregistered offers and sales of securities to public investors.”
- Meanwhile, Ripple has also filed a document against the SEC’s motion for summary judgment, saying the securities watchdog has no viable legal theory to support its claim that Ripple had to register XRP as a security under the Securities Act of 1933.
- In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple and its executives, alleging the sale of XRP constituted an offering of unregistered securities worth over US$1.38 billion.
- On Friday, crypto wallet provider SpendTheBits requested permission to file an amicus brief — typically submitted by an individual or organization that is not a party to a case but intended to influence the court’s decision — in support of Ripple.
- Also last week, Ripple’s general counsel Stuart Alderoty said the SEC has handed over internal documents to Ripple containing comments by former SEC Corporation Finance Division director William Hinman on cryptocurrencies, which has been a major point of argument in the lawsuit.
See related article: What is XRP and what is Ripple?