Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s lead lawyer, took a victory lap on social network
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s lead lawyer, took a victory lap on social media network X after federal judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s claim that secondary tokens of BNB, Binance’s exchange token, are unregistered securities.
It is worth noting that in his opinion he cited the New York ruling in the Ripple case.
“The Court notes that several of the district courts briefed on SEC enforcement actions involving cryptocurrencies have taken pains to distinguish purported investment contracts from the tokens themselves,” the opinion states.
Godfrey BenjaminMoreover, the opinion says such differentiation is consistent with the Supreme Court’s directive that the analysis should be based on various “understandings and expectations” surrounding a particular offering.
This comes after District Judge Jed Rakoff rejected Torres’ ruling in his Terra case last year. According to him, the sales method should not determine whether a given asset is a security or not.
Following the Binance decision, Alderoty now says courts are seeing “through” the SEC’s attempts to “muddy the waters” with its often-considered inconsistent legal theories.
Another loss for Binance?
Meanwhile, John Reed Stark, a former SEC official, Offered an alternative point of view, painting the recent development as a loss for Binance.
He noted that most of the agency’s enforcement actions against the exchange will not be able to move forward.
Alex DovbnyaNow, as the former SEC official predicts, the regulator will take into account investors in the Binance token market who expected to make profits by purchasing them.
“Judge Jackson appears to be saying that, in the secondary market, investor mindset is a crucial determinant of a digital asset’s classification as a security and must be particularly defended,” Stark said.
