Ripple Lawsuit Moves Forward: California Judge Disagrees with New York Decision

A California judge has ruled that a securities lawsuit against Ripple will proceed to trial, setting a different course than a similar case in New York. The lawsuit alleges that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse made misleading statements about XRP, the company's cryptocurrency, in a 2017 interview. While a New York judge ruled that XRP did not qualify as a security in all cases, the California judge disagreed, stating that a reasonable investor could have expected profits from Ripple's efforts in promoting XRP. The judge dismissed four other claims in the class action lawsuit but allowed one state law claim to proceed to trial. This decision potentially adds to the ongoing debate surrounding the classification of cryptocurrencies as securities.