Former SEC Official Explains Why Kraken Actually Suffered Mammoth Loss

John Reed Stark, a former official in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, described a recent ruling in the SEC v. Kraken case as a massive victory for the regulator.

As reported by U.Today, Judge William Orrick shot down Kraken's motion to dismiss the closely watched lawsuit earlier this week.

The SEC took Kraken to court last November, accusing the exchange of offering unregistered securities on its platform. The list of these alleged securities includes such prominent cryptocurrencies as Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL).

Marco Santori, chief legal officer at Kraken, attempted to spin the recent ruling as a "significant win" for the company, pointing to the fact that the judge rejected the poorly-worded "crypto asset security" term.

However, the judge also stated that the semantic error does not "obscure" the regulator's theory that Kraken is liable for trading unregistered securities on its platform.

The judge argues that the secondary sales of crypto assets on Kraken plausibly satisfy the Howey test.

As noted by Stark, the Ripple decision has very little value as a legal precedent for any U.S. Court.

"So, kudos Judge Orrick for ushering inn yet another meticulous and undeniable SEC crypto-victory, and kudos SEC for doing a solid Samuel L. Jackson," Stark jokingly said.

Kraken's top lawyer, however, believes that Kraken will emerge victorious from its fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Today’s ruling confirms what we’ve been saying all along: the SEC cannot credibly regulate crypto by enforcement," Santori said.