A federal judge in the US District Court for Southern New York ruled partly in favor of Ripple, cryptocurrency company, in its lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stating that programmatic sales of XRP were not securities while institutional sales were. XRP is a cryptocurrency token that is issued by the Ripple company.

The judge rejected Ripple's fair notice defense but allowed the question of whether companies executives aided and abetted the sale of XRP to go to trial. The decision is seen as a victory for the crypto industry, as it challenges the SEC's stance on token sales and could weaken its lawsuits against other projects. XRP's price surged after the decision, and the SEC is likely to appeal.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in the legal battle in front of the courts in the US against a couple of cryptocurrency firms and online exchanges.