The Effects Of The SEC v Ripple Ruling Remains Ambiguous: Bank of America Insists on Clarity

cryptonews.com:

The aftermath of the court ruling in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Ripple continues to be debated along many lines as industry analysts mirror the judgment to find needed regulatory direction.

In a new research report released on Friday, Bank of America (BAC) opined that a holistic look at the ruling shows that it did little or nothing to clarify the current situation. 

Specifically, the bank noted that Ripple’s offerings of XRP were unique making its “implications, difficult to determine.” 

Analysts at the bank led by Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss explained that the subsequent sale on exchanges did not create investment contracts therefore in line with security laws. 

“The judge ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sale of XRP on digital asset exchanges did not constitute an unregistered offer and sale of investment contracts, but primarily because an initial unregistered offering and sale to institutional investors had already occurred that created a market.” 

On July 13, the US District Court of Southern New York handed Ripple a partial victory over the SEC after it ruled that sales on exchanges and via algorithms are legal but the previous institutional sales were in violation. 

While many observers look at the positives including the re-listing of XRP on Coinbase followed by a renewed institutional confidence, others believe that the matter is not settled leaving room for more drastic actions by the SEC. 

Per the report released by BAC, for a sustainable investor environment and mainstream institutional adoption, a clear-cut regulatory framework is necessary. 

At the moment, the bank said it continues to differentiate between crypto assets and the trading of traditional finance assets including