Ripple Labs has taken its legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the next level by submitting a cross-appeal on October 10.
This follows the SEC's own appeal, which was filed earlier on October 2. The SEC's appeal challenges a court ruling that XRP XRP $0.5356 is not classified as a security when sold on public crypto exchanges.
Both Ripple's cross-appeal and the SEC's appeal will now be reviewed by the appellate court.
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Ripple's chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, addressed the situation on X. He emphasized that Ripple's cross-appeal aims to ensure all legal bases surrounding the case are covered, including the definition of an "investment contract," a central aspect of the SEC's lawsuit.
The origins of this conflict can be traced back to 2020, when the SEC accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering through the sale of its cryptocurrency, XRP.
A major ruling came in July 2023, when Judge Analisa Torres determined that while Ripple's sales of XRP to institutional buyers violated securities laws, its sales to the broader public, developers, and employees did not.
In August, Ripple was ordered to pay a $125 million fine for the sales that violated the law, much lower than the $2 billion the SEC had initially aimed for. Nonetheless, the fine has been postponed due to the appeal.
Both sides are expected to submit more arguments soon, though the timeline remains unclear. It is also still uncertain whether the SEC's focus will be on fines or XRP's classification.
