Bitnomial, a crypto derivatives exchange based in Chicago, has taken a bold step by filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The exchange is contesting the SEC’s claim that XRP futures should be classified as “Security Futures.” This legal move comes on the heels of another lawsuit from Crypto.com, which accuses the SEC of overreaching by labeling all crypto assets as securities.
Bitnomial operates under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an agency affiliated with the SEC, and recently self-certified an XRP-US Dollar futures contract following the SEC’s case against Ripple.
The Ripple case, which has been pivotal in defining the regulatory landscape for XRP, concluded with a court ruling that classified XRP sales to institutional investors as securities, while sales to the general public were not.
The SEC is currently appealing this ruling, which has sparked a series of regulatory challenges regarding XRP and its derivatives. Ripple Labs, meanwhile, has been ordered to pay nearly $125 million for improperly selling XRP, a penalty that, while significantly lower than the SEC’s initial demand of $2 billion, still underscores the ongoing tensions between the crypto industry and regulatory bodies.
As the legal battles continue to unfold, the implications for the crypto market and its regulatory framework remain profound, with Bitnomial and Ripple at the forefront of this evolving narrative.
