In the wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent lawsuit against Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, and its CEO Changpeng Zhao questions have arisen about the notable absence of Ripple-affiliated XRP token from the SEC's list of unregistered securities.
The SEC alleges that Binance and Zhao violated federal securities laws by offering unregistered securities trading platforms, unregistered crypto asset securities sales, and engaging in fraudulent practices.
According to legal experts, several reasons could explain XRP's absence from the lawsuit.
Eleanor Terrett, a Fox Business journalist, suggested on Twitter that the SEC might be trying to avoid potential inconsistent decisions or discovery issues related to ongoing litigation involving XRP.
Alex DovbnyaAdditionally, some Twitter users pointed out that XRP is not listed on Binance US, which might be another reason for its absence from the lawsuit. However, Terrett clarified that the lawsuit is not only against Binance US but also against Binance, BAM trading, and Zhao, and that XRP is indeed listed on the broader Binance platform.
Bitfinex, a popular anti-crypto activist, clarified that the SEC wouldn't have to do this in the first place.
In its lawsuit, the SEC labeled several popular cryptocurrencies, including Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), Binance's native BNB token, and the BUSD stablecoin as unregistered securities. It also detailed other crypto assets such as FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS, and COTI in the same category.
The lawsuit alleges Binance has displayed a pattern of potentially reckless disregard for securities regulations by listing for trade crypto assets that have previously been subject to SEC enforcement actions.
Tomiwabold Olajide
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov