Could Ripple's (XRP) Latest Legal Win Be 'Game Over' For The SEC Lawsuit?

Ripple, the company linked to the XRP (XRP) token, has secured yet another goal in its legal match with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by getting a right to see how the regular determines which cryptocurrency is a security, CoinDesk reported Tuesday.

What Happened: On Tuesday, Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District Court of New York granted Ripple access to SEC’s minutes and memos “expressing the agency’s interpretation or views” on the cryptocurrency, according to CoinDesk  (via Law360.)

Netburn reportedly said these documents were discoverable and added that Ripple’s discovery was a “high stakes” win.

The SEC alleges that Ripple conducted an unregistered $1.3 billion securities offering and named CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen in its legal action.

Ripple meanwhile contends that XRP is a currency and not an asset class that needs to be registered as an investment.

Why It Matters: It could be “game over” for SEC’s entire case should Ripple discover SEC privately stated that XRP is more like a currency than a security, according to a Ripple lawyer, Matthew Solomon, CoinDesk reported. 

Ripple reportedly hopes to find evidence that at some point the regulator defined XRP as being akin to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), both currencies are mostly not accepted as non-security instruments.

XRP traded 15.35% higher at $1.02 at press time. BTC and ETH traded 1.3% and 1.8% lower at $58,266.06 and $2,097.41 respectively.

See Also: Bitcoin Controlled By China, Ripple Tells SEC In Face Of Imminent Lawsuit

This is the second legal point that Ripple has scored in days in its tussle with SEC. On Monday, Ripple reached an agreement with the regulator on keeping some private email correspondence from being fully disclosed.

Meanwhile, XRP, the token associated with Ripple shot above the psychologically important $1 level on Monday. The rise is being attributed to the exuberance of the so-called XRP army by a commentator.