Coinbase Reinforces Interlocutory Appeal In SEC Suit With Ripple Case

Referencing the SEC’s latest appeal, American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase have requested that the court revisit its motion for interlocutory appeal. Notably, the US SEC may have shot itself in the leg by appealing Judge Analisa Torres’s July 13, 2024 ruling in favor of Ripple.

Coinbase Seek to Probe Howey Test Clause

According to the document adressed to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, Coinbase has asked that its pending motion to certify interlocutory appeal be granted. The trading platform first filed this motion for interlocutory appeal in April. At the time,the crypto exchange wanted to review a key question in the case: how the Howey Test, the traditional standard for what counts as a security based on a 1946 Supreme Court ruling, applies to digital assets.

The exchange believes that making this request once again will help provide the Second Circuit with a complete picture to better adjudicate the agency’s position on the Howey Test. It is specifically interested in the application of this test to secondary market crypto transactions.

Attorneys representing Coinbase have argued that the SEC’s appeal in Ripple’s case is an admission that the criteria listed in the SEC’s Howey Test were ambiguous and warranted closer examination. They are also of the opinion that the appeal demonstrates how important the application of the Howey test is. Therefore, the exchange wants its case with the agency looked into.

In April, the agency also filed its motion, requesting that Coinbase’s request be denied. It cited the lack of substantial ground for difference of opinion. Until now, Judge Failla is yet to rule on both requests. While Coinbase may have a stronger argument this time around, there is no guarantee that the court will rule in its favor.

SEC Tactics Keep Crypto Community in Suspense

Though it look like Ripple is receiving more heat from the SEC, its lawsuit with the agency is setting precedence for other crypto lawsuits. It is not yet clear if the SEC will go home victorious in the end. However, many pro-crypto lawyers think the Commission does not stand a chance.

The SEC named Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, a co-founder, as appellees in the appeal filing. This move has gotten many XRP community members talking, with many wondering what the SEC is up to. The days following the appeal hearing will come with a lot of suspense as the ecosystem await the verdict.