Legal Update: Major Development in SEC v. Ripple Case – Summary Judgment Decision Announced
July 14, 2023 | Blockchain Law Updates
Yesterday we received a decision on the cross motions for summary judgment in SEC v. Ripple. Full text of decision: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.551082/gov.uscourts.nysd.551082.874.0_2.pdf
Judge Torres stated categorically that a token is not automatically an investment contract. The sale of tokens can be a security in certain circumstances, but two problem areas appear to have tipped strongly in the direction of not involving securities regulation. The decision declined to find an investment contract (and therefore a sale of a security) in the contexts of programmatic sales (which would include sales through platforms/exchanges) and distributions of incentive compensation to employees and consultants where there is a grant (no purchase with money). Both are still complicated areas with implications in taxation and many other areas, so you will still want to carefully consider all distributions of tokens. Still, it’s a good day for distributed ledger technology.
We at Zuber Lawler are big believers in the future of distributed ledger technology (blockchain) for an extremely large range of use cases, many of which we believe can go a long way to improve the lives of people everywhere. We look forward to continuing to serve clients in furtherance of that goal.
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