On July 13, the XRP community marked the third anniversary of Judge Analisa Torres's landmark summary judgment in the SEC v. Ripple case, which declared that XRP is not a security. The ruling was a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency industry, as it distinguished between Ripple's institutional sales (which violated securities laws) and secondary market trades of XRP (which did not).
XRP holders' role in the case
John Deaton, founder of CryptoLaw, recently highlighted how XRP holders directly influenced the outcome. Deaton filed an amicus brief representing nearly 76,000 XRP holders and submitted almost 4,000 sworn affidavits from them. In his X post, he argued that these holders made a tangible difference in the case.
Judge Torres cited the amicus brief among other supporting filings and specifically referenced the 4,000 XRP holder affidavits in her summary judgment. Out of thousands of exhibits submitted, only a few dozen were cited—and the affidavits were among them. Deaton also pointed out that his oral argument in the LBRY case, concerning secondary market sales of digital assets, was cited by the judge.
A clear declaration
Deaton's brief explicitly asked the court to affirm that XRP itself is not a security, describing it as "nothing more than digital code." Judge Torres addressed this directly in her ruling, declaring that XRP is not a security in itself. The decision is widely seen as a turning point in the SEC's broader crackdown on crypto, with many viewing it as the beginning of the end of the regulator's war on digital assets.
Vet, a validator and community director at the XRP Ledger Foundation, tweeted about the anniversary, calling the ruling a major milestone. The XRP community continues to celebrate the win, which established a legal precedent that has influenced other crypto-related cases.