Ripple Labs, a blockchain company, has filed a cross-appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company is trying to challenge an August 7 judgement made by Judge Analisa Torres, who ordered Ripple to pay $125 million for violating securities laws. Ripple argues that XRP cannot be considered an investment contract without essential rights and obligations found in a contract. The SEC vs Ripple Labs case dates back to 2020 when the regulator accused the company of raising $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering of XRP. Last year, Judge Torres ruled that XRP was not a security when it came to sales to the public, its employees, and developers. However, she found that direct sales to institutional investors were securities.
Source: filing