Two companies have sought to be amicus curiae (Latin for friend of the court) in support of Ripple Labs in the lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed in 2020 against Ripple.
See related article: XRP price surges after U.S. court rejects SEC objection in Ripple lawsuit
Fast facts
- I-Remit Inc., a global payment remittance company headquartered in the Philippines, on Friday filed several documents in the district court of the Southern District of New York, including a motion for leave to submit an amicus curiae brief.
- TapJets Inc., a private jet charter and aircraft management company, also on Friday submitted a request to file an amicus brief.
- An amicus brief (short for amicus curiae briefs) is typically filed by a person or organization that isn’t 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 chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse as co-defendants for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s moves.
- I-Remit wrote in its proposed amicus brief that it does not use XRP “to speculate on it” nor does it consider XRP to be an investment, in response to the SEC’s claim that “the principal reason for anyone to buy XRP was to speculate on it as an investment.”
- TapJets wrote in its letter motion that its acceptance of XRP as payment in exchange for its services is vital.
- Last month, the court granted cryptocurrency lobby group Chamber of Digital Commerce to be an amicus curiae in the case.
See related article: SEC, Ripple seek summary judgment in attempt to speed up XRP lawsuit