✒ The case may have profound implications for the industry ― if the SEC’s action is successful, it would set a precedent and a large number of cryptocurrencies would have to be redesignated and regulated as securities.

This action signals that the US is likely to be hostile to ICOs unless and until legislative change takes place.

Note: distribution of XRP is different from the ways in which bitcoin is created and distributed. The SEC has said that bitcoin is not security.