Sealed Lawsuit Documents Look Very Positive for Ripple

The mystery behind the two sealed memos in Ripple’s lawsuit against the SEC has finally been revealed. These are the legal memos that Ripple Labs received ten years ago about XRP tokens. The documents suggest Ripple did make an effort to prevent XRP from being legally considered a security.

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What was in the sealed memos?

There were two memos that were sealed. The first memo contained advice from the law firm Perkins Coie. In this, the company advised not to sell the token, as it could then be considered a security.

However, Ripple subsequently revised its business plan and went back to Perkins Coie, who issued a second memo in October 2012. This second memo was sent to Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb.

The October memo was a lot more positive, and while it said there was a “small” risk that the SEC would disagree with Ripple, Perkins Coie concluded that Ripple Credits should not be considered a security. The memo also suggested steps Ripple could take to minimize the risk that the SEC would disagree with Perkins Coie. The memos show how careful Ripple was trying to be about selling its tokens.

“So it seems like Ripple was very proactive, which is very important. There is certainly nothing in these memos to suggest that Ripple was reckless or ignoring substantial risks. In fact, the memos suggest to the contrary that Ripple was cautious, attorney James K. Filan said.

2/5 (I didn’t see the term ICO used), it would be likely that it would be considered a security. But Ripple then revised its business plan and went back to Perkins Coie, which issued a second memo in October 2012. This second memo was sent to Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb.

– James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) February 18, 2022