US District Judge Analisa Torres in New York ruled on Thursday that Ripple Labs Inc. sales of the XRP
XRP
token to institutional investors is a securities offering, but such sales are not securities when sold to the general public. The court did not rule on whether secondary market sales of XRP are offers or sales of securities.
The court order was in response to motions for summary judgement from both the SEC, as plaintiff, and Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen, as defendants. The judge granted partial motions for both sides.
The actual case is still to be heard, and the judge will be setting a trial date.
In the meantime, there is still no certainty whether a secondary market sales of XRP constitutes the sale of a security. What is decided is that when Ripple Labs sold XRP to the general public through a digital asset exchange that such sales were not the sales of securities. Questions are still open about transactions over-the-counter or when the buyer and seller identities were known to each other.
A good step forward, and more clarity is necessary so that all the questions are answered.
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