Ripple backs SEC crypto proposal and seeks revisions

Ripple has backed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, urging the agency to finalize the framework while asking for changes to how it treats investment contracts, issuer obligations and token trading. The SEC has not adopted the proposal, and it remains under review. In a comment letter filed October 20, Ripple said the draft could replace case-by-case enforcement with clearer rules for digital-asset markets. The company’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, said the SEC has authority to adopt the proposal. Ripple argues that predictable standards could support capital formation, investor protection and innovation under existing securities law. A central point in Ripple’s filing is that an investment contract may qualify as a security without making the associated token itself a security. The company says regulators should assess what an issuer promised investors and when those commitments end, rather than rely on a general test of decentralization. Its position invokes the Howey test, which examines the circumstances of an investment arrangement. Ripple supports proposed Rule 400, a safe harbor that would let an issuer file Form...