Dennis KelleherBetter Markets CEO has revealed who has the best chance of winning an appeal in Ripple’s legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)Neither side plans to appeal, although that remains a possibility.

The SEC has a 90% chance of winning an appeal

Kelleher mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) after that the SEC has a 90% chance of winning on appeal in its long-running legal battle against Ripple. Better Markets CEO explained that Judge Analisa Torres turned “90 years of law on its head” when she ruled that institutional investors were protected by the securities laws, not retail investors. He further alleged that other judges have chosen not to follow the ruling.

Kelleher referred to Judge Torres’ ruling last year, in which she ruled that Ripple’s institutional XRP sales were investment contracts, while stating that its programmatic sales were not. This ruling is one of several that the SEC could potentially appeal if it ultimately does so, as Judge Torres’ ruling went against the Commission’s argument that XRP is a security.

Meanwhile, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Stuart Alderoty is confident that his company will emerge victorious again if the SEC appeals the ruling. He suggested that the SEC has only a 10% chance of winning the appeal, while it is revealed that Ripple plans to pay the 125 million dollars that Judge Torres convicted the crypto company of violating securities laws.

Alderoty named previously that he would not advise the SEC to appeal and that the Commission would not have to do so if they were a “rational actor.” It seems unlikely that Ripple will appeal any of the court’s rulings, as they have clarified that they intend to pay the fine and continue operating.

Clarifying the misunderstanding

Contrary to Kelleher’s claims that other judges have dismissed the appeal Judge Torres’ rulingIt is worth noting that Judge Amy Berman Jackson adopted Judge Torres’ approach when she delivered her ruling in the case between Binance US and the SECJudge Jackson rejected the SEC’s argument that the secondary sale of Binance Coin (BNB) were investment contracts.

She also rejected the claim that crypto itself was a security. Meanwhile, both judges alluded to the Howey test to prove that crypto tokens could not be classified as securities and that they could only be considered investment contracts due to the manner in which they were sold.

This Is Why Judge Torres Ruled That Ripple’s XRP Sales To institutional clients were investment contracts, as these investors probably expected a profit. On the other hand, retail investors who bought these tokens through secondary sales had no idea who they were buying them from and could not possibly expect a profit on their purchases.

Cover photo of Dall-E, chart by Tradingview