Two other companies are hoping to weigh in on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple.
TapJets, which bills itself as the Uber of private jet chartering, and remittance company I-Remit hope to serve as an “amicus curiae” in the case in support of Ripple.
Amicus Curiae means “friend of the court,” according to Cornell Law School. Amici curiae can submit documents known as amicus briefs on issues relevant to the case as long as the court approves the briefs in advance.
The SEC sued Ripple in late 2020 under allegations that it issued as an unregistered security.
TapJets’ legal team says the company is interested in the case because it uses XRP as a currency. TapJets relies on XRP because its clients often charter jets outside of banking hours, rendering wire transfers ineffective.
Explains the company’s lawyer,
“TapJets has adopted XRP, invested in technology to accept, process, and account for this digital currency, and now has an interest in the outcome of this litigation. TapJets rightfully fears that by losing the ability to accept XRP, TapJets business will suffer losses, both financial as well as a loss of goodwill with thousands of clients who use XRP as a form of digital currency/payment.”
I-Remit it uses Ripple’s XRP-powered, cross-border payment product, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). The company notes it does not “speculate” on XRP, which the SEC claims is the primary reason to buy the crypto asset.
“I-Remit has been an active user of ODL since 2019. ODL is useful for I-Remit because XRP and the XRP LEDGER lower the cost of real-time payments and allow greater customer access to currency markets with a high level of speed and security. On an annual basis, I-Remit accommodates the utilization of XRP to process and payout remittance transactions equivalent to hundreds of millions of US dollars.
Contrary to the SEC’s insinuation in its lawsuit and summary judgment motion, Ripple does not pay I-Remit to use ODL or XRP; I-Remit uses ODL and XRP voluntarily because they benefit I-Remit’s remittance partners. Simply put, the SEC’s allegations misunderstand the extent and function of ODL’s usage, thereby also misunderstanding the purpose of XRP.”
