The price of the crypto asset XRP is surging after a federal judge ruled that Ripple can proceed with one of its central arguments against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Court documents show Judge Analisa Torres has denied the SEC’s motion to strike Ripple from using a “Fair Notice Defense.”
The San Francisco-based payments company has long argued that the SEC did not give Ripple adequate notice that the agency considered XRP to be a security. XRP has jumped 15% in the last 24-hours and is at $0.84 at time of publishing.
In an interview with Fox News, Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty says the order highlights the validity of Ripple’s argument.
“Today’s order confirms that there is a serious question as to whether the SEC ever provided Ripple with fair notice that its distributions of XRP – since 2013 – would ever be prohibited under the securities laws. We will continue to fight hard in defending this case so that the industry can get the needed clarity it deserves to move forward and thrive.”
In addition, Judge Torres is denying Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and cofounder Chris Larsen’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s individual charges against them.
Alderoty says he remains confident that the SEC’s allegations will be dismissed.
“While we would have preferred the cases against Brad and Chris to end now, the Court has decided to make the SEC prove its claims. We are confident that ultimately all of the SEC’s claims will be dismissed.”
