Ripple CTO Responds to Exclusion of XRP in List of Alleged Security Tokens

Ripple CTO Schwartz has reacted to a list officially released by CoinGecko, which mentions tokens alleged to be securities by the SEC, with the absence of XRP.

David Schwartz, CTO at Ripple, recently reacted to a list officially released by prominent price-tracking platform CoinGecko. The CoinGecko list mentions tokens alleged to be securities by the US SEC. However, XRP is left out, reaffirming its position as a non-security.

The List Exempts XRP

CoinGecko published the list yesterday amid the SEC’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Notably, the list contains 48 tokens, with most alleged to be securities by the SEC in its lawsuits with exchanges Binance and Coinbase.

BNB, ADA, SOL, TRX, MATIC, TON, BUSD, and ATOM are among these tokens. These tokens are the only top 30 assets found on the list. While the list appears to target assets using the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, it conveniently excludes Ethereum. 

Interestingly, all the tokens on the list currently have a combined market capitalization of $92.7 billion, representing 7.86% of the global crypto market cap.

Assets using proof-of-work such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin are expectedly missing. Shiba Inu and Avalanche are also not included. In addition, while the two largest stablecoins, USDT and USDC, are exempt, the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin makes it to the list.

The most interesting aspect of the list is the exemption of XRP. This follows the verdict issued by Judge Torres. The Judge explicitly stated that XRP in itself is not a security – a ruling that contradicts the SEC’s argument.

Ripple CTO Reacts

David Schwartz reacted to the list, humorously pointing out that orange groves, live beavers, and whiskey warehouse receipts are not on the list. Notably, the SEC had previously dragged these items into its securities classification as it sought to extend its oversight.

Not on the list:
Orange groves
Live beavers
Warehouse receipts for whisky casks
XRP https://t.co/BuZqchXLqD

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) August 8, 2023

The regulatory agency involved oranges, groves in its case against W. J. Howey Co. in 1946, live beavers in the case against Continental Mrkt. Corp in 1967, and whiskey warehouse receipts in the M. A. Lundy Associates case in 1973.

The most recent is XRP which has now attained the status of a non-security. The crucial point is that XRP now sits among instruments legally proven to be non-securities. This makes it the only digital asset with legal clarity.

While assets such as Bitcoin are considered not securities by the US SEC, they have not undergone any trial. Despite the SEC’s plans to appeal the Judge’s decision, pro-XRP attorney John Deaton emphasized that this verdict will remain the land law for at least two years.