The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received support from sports investing group New Sports Economy Institute (NSEI), which submitted its amicus brief on Friday to weigh in on the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple Labs Inc.
See related article: What is XRP and what is Ripple?
Fast facts
- NSEI wrote in its amicus brief that cryptocurrency is like “a chameleon engaging in regulatory arbitrage, branding itself as an asset when it wants to attract capital and appeal to ‘investors’, but a currency when it faces regulatory scrutiny.”
- “This flip-flopping is not only disingenuous, but also improbable,” NSEI said.
- NSEI added: “Even if the Court finds XRP is more of a currency and less a speculative asset proxy, that would make it an exception rather than the rule, and any ruling of that nature should be constructed narrowly to avoid significant harm to future speculators of crypto, who, in all likelihood, don’t even realize that they are not investing in the first place.”
- 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.
- An amicus brief is typically submitted by an individual or organization that is not a party to a case but intended to influence the court’s decision.
- Last week, U.S. lobby groups Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation formally filed their amici briefs to support Ripple.
See related article: Ripple gets support from Blockchain Association in XRP lawsuit against SEC