Coinbase and Blockchain Advocacy Group Join Ripple’s Fight Against SEC

Major crypto exchange Coinbase has followed advocacy group Investor Choice Advocates Network to voice its support for Ripple’s key defense in its legal fight against the SEC.

News that Coinbase has come out in support of Ripple and its important “fair notice” defense means that Ripple now has a heavyweight player from the crypto industry on its side in the court case against the US financial regulator.

Ripple’s fair notice defense focuses on the U.S. Constitution’s Due Process Clause, which requires that the language of any criminal statute is sufficiently clear to give “fair notice” of what is prohibited.

The SEC has sued Ripple and its two executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen for selling XRP tokens as “unregistered securities” to investors.

The news that Coinbase is looking to file a brief in the case was shared on Twitter by Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal, who said the company has asked the judge in the case for permission to file an amicus brief.

An amicus brief, also known as a “friend of the court,” is a document filed in a court with information relevant to the case from a party that is now involved in the case.

“Our point in pretty simple: this is a textbook case of just how critical fair notice is any reasonable notice of due process under law,” Grewal wrote in the tweet:

The filing from Coinbase came on the same day as the crypto-focused lawyer John Deaton filed a similar motion on behalf of the XRP community “in opposition to [the SEC Governor’s] motion for summary judgment.”

Meanwhile, on Friday last week, Investor Choice Advocates Network was granted permission by the same court to file its amicus brief in the case.

The letter granting permission, signed by District Judge Analisa Torres, said briefs must be submitted to the court by November 2, according to a screenshot of the letter shared on Twitter by defense lawyer James K. Filan.

Other notable organizations in the crypto space have also publicly voiced its support for Ripple. Among them are the crypto advocacy groups Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation, the crypto mobile app SpendTheBits, as well as the venture capital firm Valhil Capital.