SEC v. Ripple: Here’s how two 2012 memos can turn the tide in the milestone crypto case By Cointelegraph

Ripple’s court battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has recently seen new developments that, according to some observers, could foreshadow an impending resolution of this massively consequential case. Feb. 17 marks the deadline for to unseal a series of 2012 documents whose contents will likely sway the opinions of both the court and the public toward either one side or another. In another plot twist, the court’s decision to treat some of the SEC’s documents as open to discovery could set a groundbreaking precedent for similar cases involving U.S. executive agencies. Here is where things stand ahead of the next round of the showdown.

What’s at stake

The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc., filed on Dec. 23, 2020, alleges that the company raised upward of $1.3 billion by selling the XRP token without registering it as a security, which is what the agency considers it to be. Ripple’s argument is that XRP is a tool that facilitates international payments rather than an unregistered investment product and that the agency’s jurisdiction does not extend to the token and its sales.

2012 legal memos

Checking the SEC’s privilege

How does this end?