In the debate surrounding the securities nature of the cryptocurrency XRP, a legal expert from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has publicly stated his opinion that holding XRP itself does not constitute a security.
Teresa Goody Guillén, a partner at Baker Hostetler and former SEC litigation counsel, reportedly sent a letter to the SEC's Cryptocurrency Task Force on January 29th expressing her opinion on the legal nature of XRP. In the letter, she stated that "holding XRP alone does not constitute an investment contract."
Gudi Guillen criticized the SEC's long-standing argument for "passive economic interest," pointing out the limitations of interpreting the expectation of price increases alone as constituting an investment contract under securities law. He emphasized the need to distinguish between speculative expectations and the concept of a contract under securities law.
Gudi Guillen also reportedly shared similar concerns with Ripple's proposed Digital Value Instrument (DVI) framework, suggesting that the regulatory status of digital assets should not be determined solely by a single factor. The letter reportedly included reference materials, including legislative discussions and academic research on market structure.
This statement is being interpreted as an example of a legal expert from the SEC clearly drawing a line on whether holding XRP constitutes a security, and is once again drawing attention to the discussion on legal interpretation surrounding XRP.
