The XRP lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains a hot topic as FOX Business journalist Charles Gasparino posits that a continued push under a Trump-led SEC could spell victory for the agency. However, Bill Morgan, a prominent attorney within the XRP community, argues that the judge’s rulings are based on strong legal principles, countering the narrative by Gasparino.
On X, Gasparino defended his earlier reports and reiterated his view that Judge Torres’s decision in favor of Ripple’s programmatic sales could ultimately be overturned. According to Gasparino: “I will never change my mind that Judge Torres’s ruling that allows for lower disclosure standards for retail is something that markets should embrace. I also believe that if the SEC does continue to challenge, there’s a good chance of it being overturned. If you don’t like that, too bad.”
He went on to note that he has covered both sides of the legal spat, citing his interview with former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo—who predicted the SEC would drop the Ripple litigation when President-elect Donald Trump reassumes office—as an example of balanced reporting.
Pro-XRP Lawyer Morgan Counters Gasparino
Bill Morgan, a renowned pro-XRP lawyer who often voices his opinions on the high-profile lawsuit, sharply contested Gasparino’s claims. Responding directly to Gasparino, Morgan argued that Judge Torres’s ruling neither lowers disclosure standards for retail traders nor addresses secondary market sales in a way that would curtail the usual securities disclosures:
“Respectfully, Judge Torres’s ruling does not ‘allow’ for lower disclosure standards for retail. It did not even extend to other secondary market sales. The need for securities level disclosure only arises if programmatic sales are investment contracts.”
Morgan further contended that, if Ripple ultimately prevails on appeal regarding the judge’s finding that institutional sales constituted securities transactions, any concerns about varying disclosure requirements would vanish: “If Ripple wins its appeal your concerns about different disclosure standards disappear. No securities disclosure will be required for any Ripple XRP sales in that event because no sales will be securities.”
The core of Morgan’s criticism focuses on the SEC’s inability to supply convincing evidence that retail buyers of XRP relied on Ripple’s efforts for profit. According to Morgan, the SEC’s expert did not interview a single retail holder: “The SEC lost on the category of programmatic sales because its evidence on the expectation of profits for programmatic buyers was not sufficient. It was crap evidence. It was poor lawyering quite frankly.”
He highlighted attorney John Deaton’s submission of extensive evidence demonstrating that many XRP holders neither knew nor cared about Ripple’s business operations when purchasing the token.
Morgan further criticized Gasparino for questioning Judge Torres’s competence: “You might not like the consequence of the ruling but that does not mean there was an error by the judge. It certainly doesn’t warrant calling her stupid. […] What do you actually say is the legal or factual error in her reasoning anyway? You don’t. You just bad mouth the Judge because of a perceived adverse consequence.”
In a subsequent post, Gasparino defended his stance and explained why many in the securities bar allegedly view Judge Torres’s ruling with skepticism: “According to the ‘33 act, you need to provide full disclosures if you are going to raise cap from the general public, and limited disclosures for private offerings. […] The private offering to institutions (only basic requirements) was found deficient while the public sales (full financial statements) were ruled not to have been securities transactions because the people buying XRP in the secondary market, she claims, thus they had no idea what Ripple does in relation to their XRP purchase. […] It’s insane because if Ripple went out of biz tomorrow, what would XRP be used for?”
Gasparino also maintained his belief that if Trump once again heads the SEC and “continues to challenge, he will win because according to the basics of securities laws the public is always entitled to more than private, not equal and certainly not less.”
At press time, XRP traded at $2.02.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
