blockchain-based digital payment network Wave has applied for a crypto license in UK And Ireland After a partial victory against America Securities and Exchange Commission,
sandi youngRipple’s managing director for the UK and Europe has revealed that the company has “recently” applied for crypto asset firm registration with the UK’s FCA, along with a payment institution license in Ireland.
The move comes after a US court ruled in favor of Ripple in an ongoing lawsuit by the SEC, which claimed that selling XRP on exchanges does not in itself constitute an investment contract.
decision issued by District Court for the Southern District of New Yorkstated that “the offering and sale of XRP on digital asset exchanges is not equivalent to the offering and sale of investment contracts.”
However, the federal judge ruled that as well XRP It is a security when sold to institutional investors because it meets the conditions set forth in the Howey Test.
Young claimed that the decision was a “big win” and “positive for (the company’s) growth in the US”.
“We haven’t turned around and said, ‘Let’s stop recruiting in the UK.’ Our strategy and growth plans remain intact and are in place.”
“We are in the process of applying for our crypto asset registration in the UK and our payments license in Ireland. These are all massive investments, with a view that we will continue to grow rapidly in this area.”
It is worth noting that Ripple has already grown its presence significantly in the UK and Europe.
Over the past 18 months, the company has grown its UK and European workforce by almost 75% and now has over 100 of its approximately 900 global employees based in offices in London, Dublin and Reykjavik, Iceland.
Did Ripple Really Win Against the SEC?
While many crypto pundits have cheered Ripple’s recent partial victory, others said the industry’s battle for regulatory clarity is not likely to be over just yet.
Preston Byrne, partner at Brown Rudnick and a crypto entrepreneur, said that while the SEC is currently reviewing the decision, he claims the agency may challenge the decision.
“The Ripple summary judgment is clearly not the final word on this issue,” Byrne said in a recent tweet, noting that even if Ripple concedes victory, the firm would still receive “several billions of dollars in institutional sales for which they are on the hook.”
Others also claimed that the summary judgment may not have a strong basis and may not lead to the desired change in the way the SEC deals with the crypto industry.
Joe Castelluccio, fintech group leader at law firm Meyer Brown, said the SEC will likely highlight the parts of the court decision that support their views on coins and tokens as securities.