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- The SEC has argued that XRP lacks utility in court, and according to one lawyer, this is the best illustration of the ignorance prevalent with the regulator.
- The lawyer also attacked the SEC’s argument that XRP holders were in ‘common enterprise’ with RIpple, citing studies that show most holders don’t think they hold a stake in Ripple.
The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has presented many arguments meant to boost its chances of a legal victory against Ripple Labs. According to one legal expert, none has been more outrageous and ill-informed as the argument claiming that XRP lacks utility. Lawyer John Deaton believes that this is the best illustration of the ignorance that’s prevalent in the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrencies.
Deaton is the founder of Deaton Law Firm, but in the crypto community, he’s most renowned for being the founder of Crypto Law, a repository for U.S legal and regulatory news and analyses for digital assets. He has especially been involved in the XRP community and was one of the digital asset holders who filed a Motion to Intervene in the SEC vs. Ripple case.
Read More: Judge denies motion to intervene by XRP holders in Ripple vs. SEC case
In a July 7 blog post, the legal expert focused on one of SEC’s “most egregious allegations.”
JUST ADDED: The latest blog post by @JohnEDeaton1:
“If Judge Netburn and millions of #XRP holders, along with companies like @Ripple, @BitPay, @Spend_The_Bits, Japan’s @sbigroup and others all recognize the utility of XRP, it seems the SEC is the outlier.”https://t.co/AijxiDLHP8— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) July 7, 2021
In a March 19 court proceeding, the SEC attorney Jorge Tenreiro argued “Now, the court referenced a utility for XRP. We dispute whether that utility actually exists, your Honor.”
For starters, even the presiding judge, Sarah Netburn, proved that she knows more about XRP’s utility than the SEC, Deaton argues. Judge Netburn stated that in her understanding, not only does the digital asset have currency value, “but it also has a utility, and that utility distinguishes it, I think, from Bitcoin and Ether.”
Deaton notes:
If Judge Netburn and millions of XRP holders, along with companies like Ripple, BitPay, Spend the Bits, Japan’s SBI and others all recognize the utility of XRP, it seems the SEC is the outlier.
SEC’s argument against XRP “makes no sense”
The legal expert argued that XRP has proven over the years that it has utility. Its open-source nature allows its users to pay for goods and services without having to rely on Ripple in any way.
According to data by Cryptwerk, there are now over 1,300 companies accepting the crypto for payments. They range from web hosting and other web services to tourism, gambling, travel, entertainment and more.
Deaton claims to have been contacted by over 19,000 XRP holders from all across the globe, “many of whom receive paychecks in XRP and use XRP-powered debit cards to shop for groceries and pay for gas. These people are not in “common enterprise” with Ripple, despite the SEC’s claims.”
The lawyer further cited one poll by Stedas Crypto in which over 90 percent of over 4,000 respondents said that just because they own the crypto, they don’t believe they own a stake in Ripple.
The SEC’s argument that there is no XRP without Ripple is not just flawed, it makes no sense. For many XRP holders, the SEC’s lawsuit was the first time they had ever heard of Ripple, leaving many of us to ask: What’s Ripple?
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