Bloomberg Publishes Article by Andrew St. Laurent and Quotes Him on Ripple Labs Crypto Decision

August 3, 2023

Bloomberg Law recently published an article from Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler founding partner Andrew St. Laurent about how uncertainty remains for crypto projects despite the recent ruling in SEC v. Ripple. Bloomberg also quoted him in an article about the impact of the Ripple decision. In his Bloomberg Law article, titled “Despite Ripple, Crypto Projects Still Face Uncertainty and Risks,” St. Laurent breaks down United States District Judge Analisa Torres’ Ripple ruling that found Ripple’s XRP token was not a security when sold to individual investors on public exchanges. He also notes that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to appeal.

St. Laurent was also quoted by Bloomberg in the article, “Crypto Assets Surge and Sink on the Words of Two New York Judges.” The piece examines the impact of both Ripple and U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff’s subsequent finding that Terraform Labs Pte’s Terra USD token is a security when sold to retail investors. St. Laurent told Bloomberg that the Ripple decision “gave some hope to the crypto industry” because Torres found that certain conduct falls outside the scope of securities law.

St. Laurent was part of the legal team defending former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi in SEC v. Wahi, which was among the first SEC actions to claim cryptocurrencies as securities. He is a first-chair trial lawyer who has tried more than 20 cases to verdict, from federal jury trials to FINRA, AAA and JAMS arbitrations, as well as numerous New York State court bench and jury trials. He regularly represents individuals and companies in criminal and regulatory matters. St. Laurent has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for ten years, from 2013-2022, and has been featured in numerous publications as a contributor. He is Chambers-ranked, as is Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler LLP, for white-collar criminal defense and government investigations in New York.