SEC-Ripple lawsuit cost XRP 3 years of adoption: Lawyer

Crypto lawyer John Deaton cited several instances where major crypto players like Coinbase reached out to the SEC for regulatory clarification before listing XRP, but didn’t face any objection.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple filed in December 2020 has deprived the XRP token of nearly three years of adoption in the United States, said pro-XRP lawyer John E Deaton in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter).

Deaton’s comments came amid Coinbase’s announcement that they have acquired a minority stake in USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle and will be working to “unlock additional utilities and grow the USDC ecosystem.” The lawyer reflected on how Ripple and XRP were on a trajectory of great adoption in cross-border payment and if not for the SEC lawsuit, the likes of Coinbase might have shown similar interest in Ripple.

You could NEVER underestimate the damage the SEC’s lawsuit has caused – NOT ONLY AGAINST RIPPLE – BUT #XRP. THREE YEARS OF ADOPTION – that’s what it’s caused.

Just how long is 3 yrs – in crypto years?

People seem to forget how much Coinbase promoted #XRP before the lawsuit.… https://t.co/1fZ3r8WCSd pic.twitter.com/GLu4kFUU38

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 22, 2023

The pro-XRP lawyer reminded the community that Coinbase was one of the major promoters of XRP before the lawsuit forced the crypto exchange to delist the token.

Deaton noted that Coinbase did its due diligence and even reached out to the SEC to check the regulatory status of XRP before listing it. Coinbase in its meeting in January 2019, explained to the SEC that it evaluated XRP based on its stringent regulatory framework for digital assets, the same framework a senior staff at the SEC had publicly complimented Coinbase on.

The SEC at the time didn’t share any objection to the Coinbase listing proposal followed by the crypto exchange listing the XRP token in Feb 2019. Similarly, MoneyGram, a payment processor giant and a key Ripple remittance partner also filed a form with the SEC, disclosing how they plan to use XRP. MoneyGram faced no objection from the SEC either.

Related: Ripple Labs bites back against SEC’s request to file appeal

Deaton said that clearly, the lawyers at “MoneyGram also determined, just like Coinbase’s lawyers, and just like the SEC enforcement lawyers in June 2018, that XRP was NOT a security.” However, despite all the necessary measures taken by Ripple partners, SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in Dec 2020.

We know the rest. It is so clear the lawsuit was used as a weapon. I said it only 9 days after the Ripple lawsuit in a federal pleading, when I filed the Writ of Mandamus against the SEC, and all the evidence uncovered during the last 3 years proves it to be true.

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 22, 2023

The pro-XRP lawyer claimed that Ripple’s lawsuit was used as a weapon. and said “all the evidence uncovered during the last 3 years proves it to be true.” He concluded that despite Ripple’s continued and impressive success outside the U.S., the lawsuit definitely hurt XRP’s adoption. On July 13, a New York District Court judge Analisa Torres ruled partially in favor of Ripple Labs, ruling that XRP sales on digital asset exchanges is not a security.

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