Pro-XRP Lawyer Explains Adapted Howey Test “Torres Doctrine” To Crypto Industry

Pro-XRP lawyer John E. Deaton says the "Torres Doctrine" is an application of the Howey Test to blockchain technology and crypto assets.
By Varinder Singh
Updated June 2, 2025
Ripple XRP SEC

Judge Analisa Torres’ landmark decision in the Ripple vs US SEC has established the “Torres Doctrine”, a precedent that will restrict the application of the US Supreme Court’s Howey Test to modern-day blockchain technology. Many lawyers and politicians respected Judge Torres’s ruling in the most crucial case for not just the XRP community but for the entire crypto industry.

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John Deaton Explains the Significance of “Torres Doctrine” to the Crypto Industry

Pro-XRP lawyer John E. Deaton on July 19 said the “Torres Doctrine” is a strict application of the Howey Test to modern-day blockchain technology and crypto assets. Judge Torres strictly applied the Howey Test to each type of XRP sales that the US SEC claimed violated the securities laws.

US Congressman Richie Torres in a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler noted Judge Torres’ decision as the “Torres Doctrine”, an adapted Howey Test for the crypto industry. It will help bring legal clarity to crypto regulation in the US amid SEC’s failure to regulate crypto and taking regulation by enforcement approach.

Several lawyers including John Deaton, James Murphy, James K. Filan, and Coinbase’s Paul Grewal appreciated Judge Torres’ decision in the Ripple vs SEC case on the basis of investment contracts, while respecting the Supreme Court’s Howey Test.

While institutional sales satisfied all factors of the Howey test, programmatic sales of crypto on exchanges did not satisfy all factors of the test. Hence, these sales do not violate securities laws.

Deaton explained that “There is no prong of the Howey Test that asks the Judge to evaluate the level of sophistication related to the buyers. There is no factor in the Howey test that instructs the judge, after applying the Howey factors, to then consider whether the result is consistent with the policy implications behind the 1934 Securities Act.”

In an appeal against the court decision, Judge Torres can rule that the common enterprise factor is not satisfied between XRP holders and Ripple. Also, she could rule consumptive intent is an issue for the jury, making it more difficult for the US SEC.

Meanwhile, the case is referred to Judge Sarah Netburn, who ordered Ripple and the US SEC to settle on other parts of the lawsuit such as institutional sales.

Also Read: Binance Burns 1.99 Million BNB Tokens Worth $619M, Price Recovery Ahead?

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XRP Price Skyrockets

Ripple’s native cryptocurrency XRP has once again caught momentum by shooting another 8% in the last 24 hours and is currently trading over $0.80 with a market cap of $41.68 billion. XRP price has soared 66% on the weekly chart and is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency on the market.

An analysis by CoinGape Markets predicts XRP price to rally past $1. Egrag Crypto, an analyst with over 31k followers on Twitter, predicts that XRP price is on the way to hitting highs of $27.

Also Read: Presidential Candidate RFK Jr. Plans To Back US Dollar With Bitcoin & End Taxes

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Varinder Singh
Varinder has over 10 years of experience and is known as a seasoned leader for his involvement in the fintech sector. With over 5 years dedicated to blockchain, crypto, and Web3 developments, he has experienced two Bitcoin halving events making him key opinion leader in the space. At CoinGape Media, Varinder leads the editorial decisions, spearheading the news team to cover latest updates, markets trends and developments within the crypto industry. The company was recognized as Best Crypto Media Company 2024 for high impact and quality reporting. Being a Master of Technology degree holder, analytics thinker, technology enthusiast, Varinder has shared his knowledge of disruptive technologies in over 5000+ news, articles, and papers.
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