Bitnomial Sues SEC Over XRP Futures Securities Label

Last updated on October 14th, 2024 at 10:43 am

Crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its chair Gary Gensler, and four commissioners, challenging the SEC’s jurisdiction over its XRP Futures product.

Bitnomial alleged that the SEC’s classification of XRP as a security, which led the agency to demand compliance with federal securities laws, is “inappropriate” and oversteps its bounds.

In the filing, the exchange argued that XRP Futures do not constitute security futures, as XRP itself is not a security, and asserted that the SEC’s additional compliance requirements conflict with the self-certification it already received from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Despite this, the SEC insisted Bitnomial register as a national securities exchange before listing XRP Futures contracts, effectively blocking the product from launching.

The exchange also stated that XRP, though the SEC views it as the underlying security, is not registered as such, and Bitnomial has no authority to register it even if it wishes to do so.

This lawsuit emerges as the SEC continues its legal battle with Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP. The SEC is appealing a recent court decision that ruled Ripple’s retail sales of XRP did not violate securities laws.

The SEC’s appeal, filed on October 2, contests a July ruling by Judge Analisa Torres, which stated that XRP’s sale to retail investors was not an illegal securities offering under the Howey test. However, the court found that Ripple’s institutional sales did violate securities laws, prompting the SEC to propose a $1.95 billion penalty, later reduced to $125 million. Ripple was also instructed to register with the SEC if it plans to offer securities in the future.

Notably, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has expressed frustration with the SEC’s appeal, calling it