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Seven months into its legal showdown with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ripple Labs faces an uphill battle against the government's case that it sold unregistered securities, according to a number of experts.
That said, the San Francisco cryptocurrency company has assembled a high-priced legal team including former SEC commissioner Mary Jo White that has come out swinging. It has scored several early points, including getting U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn's approval last week to depose a former division director of the SEC over the agency's objections.
An SEC lawsuit filed in December accuses Ripple of violating federal securities laws. The company sold more than 14.6 billion units of XRP for $1.38 billion to fund Ripple’s operations, and to enrich its founders and current CEO, without registering those offers and sales of XRP with the commission, according to the suit.