Ripple Labs is an allegedly nascent Blockchain Project that wants to launch its crypto unicorn XRP in the market. With its current tug of war with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Government of the United States, Ripple Labs is attracting the attention of crypto enthusiasts all over the world. According to the statement issued by Ripple authorities, the XRP was designed to be a better alternative for Bitcoin in the market.
After a prolonged silence after the SEC’s legal advice claim, Ripple general counsel Stuart Aldetory has responded with a 100-page memo. According to a tweet in the same vein by the expert litigator, this Memo is a defamation damages claim on SEC. After the mere conviction of SEC’s claims on XRP, Ripple Labs has to suffer from Billions of dollars of Loss and decline of favor in the market.
At first glance, the legal proceedings of Ripple Labs look intertwined. However, at the base, this legal tension rose when SEC got wind of the Ripple Labs 2012 legal consultation records. This record submitted by unknown sources maintains that Ripple Labs asked for legal advice from an unnamed law firm to distribute XRP without violating SEC securities laws.
SEC authorities maintain in their lawsuit against Ripple Labs that they have disregarded many clauses from the legal advice and tried to trade XRP unlawfully. It is important to note that Brad Garlington and Chrish Lauren have already filed a motion to dismiss against SEC allegations. There are so many twists and turns in these legal proceedings that it is difficult to pinpoint any verdict.
The court of law has already ordered further discovery in this case. In the meantime, Ripple Labs is also raising questions about SEC’s alleged bias towards Bitcoin and Etherium trading practices. The SEC officials counter this claim by stating that XRP is not a digital currency since it is not recognized by any Federal government and is not a legal tender. Furthermore, Bitcoin is different from XRP as it does not engage in self-promotion, distribution, and marketing like Ripple Labs.
The Ripple Labs executives are trying to get a motion to dismiss on the basis that SEC has already accepted XRP status as a digital currency in a 2015 case. In these cases, Ripple lost a legal battle against Financial Crime Enforcement Network and the Justice Department about anti-money laundering cases. The Ripple executives agree that the 2012 proceedings were exposed to the third party during different business negotiations. However, they also claim that their correspondence is protected by attorney-client privileges and refuse to bring the memos to light.