Description: A publication authored by Steptoe Litigation Attorneys offering updates on civil litigation and trial practice in the US Southern District Court of New York.
A Steptoe blog about civil litigation in the Southern District of New York
In the SEC’s closely-watched action against the crypto firm Ripple, Judge Torres on Thursday issued a summary judgment decision finding that some types of sales of Ripple’s crypto token, XRP, were governed by the securities laws while others were not. The decision is a notable counterweight to the SEC’s effort to broadly categorize crypto transactions as falling under the securities laws.
The key issue was whether the underlying transactions met the definition of the “investment contracts” as interpreted by the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co ., 328 U.S. 293 (1946) . Under Howey , a transaction is an investment contract if there is “a contract, transaction or scheme whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party.”