Vocal Ripple Detractor Believes XRP Is Not A Security Amid Ripple vs. SEC Stalemate — Here’s Why

Riot Platforms’ research head Pierre Rochard has asserted that XRP is not a security despite many critics of the controversial Ripple-promoted coin claiming it is. Rochard, a longtime critic of Ripple, argues that XRP cannot be classified as a security because the San Francisco-based blockchain payments startup does not actually owe investors “utility or anything else.” “They are free to dump on you and you have no right to do anything about it other than join them in dumping XRP. That’s why XRP is not a security,” he opined. Responding to an X user, the mining exec noted that many “worthless” and “harmful” products do not qualify as securities. In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres granted Ripple a partial victory after declaring in her summary judgement that secondary sales of the Ripple-linked token were not securities. Last Sunday, President Trump said he expects payments-focused XRP to be a part of the strategic digital assets reserve with other cryptocurrencies. Critics argue against XRP as a reserve asset by pointing out that it lacks the real-world presence and the decentralization of Bitcoin or Ethereum. Moreover, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has not yet announced plans to list XRP futures, which is probably why skeptics are against the coin’s inclusion in the national reserve. Notably, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved ETFs investing in the CME-regulated BTC and ETH futures before greenlighting the spot BTC and ETH ETFs last year, trusting the exchange’s monitoring system to tackle potential price manipulation. In January, Rochard lambasted Ripple as the biggest obstacle to a Bitcoin-only strategic reserve since the company was aggressively lobbying against it. However, Ripple boss Brad Garlinghouse claimed that the company’s efforts were actually boosting the likelihood of a reserve that includes Bitcoin. The CEO has long advocated for a multi-asset US crypto reserve similar to the one announced by Trump on March 2. SEC Is Challenging XRP’s Classification Meanwhile, some believe including XRP in the reserve signals the imminent conclusion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s ongoing enforcement lawsuit against Ripple. The SEC formally filed its appeal-related opening brief on January 15, challenging the court’s previous ruling on the programmatic XRP sales. Since pro-crypto Commissioner Mark Uyeda took over as acting Chair after former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s exit, speculation has grown over a possible resolution of the Ripple case.