Ripple Ruling Means More Attorney Work in SEC Crypto Fights (1)

A federal court ruling that the Ripple Labs token is not a security when sold to the general public is likely to embolden the crypto industry to invest heavily in lawyers to fight SEC regulation.

Ripple claimed late last year to have spent roughly $100 million defending a charge that it raised more than $1 billion through the sale of an unregistered security. Since facing a lawsuit three years ago, the crypto payments firm hired lawyers including former SEC chair Mary Jo White, now a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, to battle the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The payoff ...