Chief legal officer of Ripple Stuart Alderoty has offered his predictions on the state of cryptocurrencies in 2024. He talked on what to expect from the legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the impact of judges on cryptocurrency laws, and potential legislative obstacles in the US Congress.
Alderoty believes that Ripple’s action against the SEC may be resolved by 2024. He highlights the possible consequences for the bitcoin industry and cautions against the SEC’s ongoing “regulation by enforcement” strategy. Alderoty emphasises the importance of the judicial system and believes that it will be crucial in preventing SEC abuse. He speculates that ongoing legal battles may intensify and maybe result in a confrontation at the US Supreme Court.
Alderoty anticipates that US lawmakers will come to an agreement over the need for cryptocurrency laws. However, he predicts a stalemate in the implementation process, putting American cryptocurrency companies in a precarious situation while other nations make strides in terms of innovation and regulatory clarity.
In 2020, the SEC brought legal action against Ripple Labs and its CEOs, both at the time and since then. The lawsuit claimed that the parties had carried out an unregistered securities offering while disguising it as an IPO for the XRP token, which was worth $0.63 at the time. The lawsuit claims that Ripple raised money by selling XRP tokens to investors all across the world in illegal security offerings.
But in July, Ripple was able to win a portion of the legal battle against the SEC. In the context of programmatic sales on digital asset exchanges, the judge determined that the XRP coin was not a security and granted summary judgement in favour of Ripple Labs. Nevertheless, the SEC also prevailed because the court determined that XRP meets the requirements of the Howey test and is a security when offered to institutional investors.
Many contend that the ongoing lawsuit has adversely affected the adoption of XRP in the US, even in spite of Ripple’s global success. John Deaton, an attorney for XRP, asserts that the litigation was used as a weapon, and the last three years’ worth of evidence backs up this position.
