Ripple Labs has won a partial victory in its legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as a judge ruled that the sale of Ripple's XRP tokens on exchanges and through algorithms did not constitute investment contracts. However, the institutional sale of the tokens did violate federal securities laws.

Ripple's XRP has surged by up to 80% on the news, with exchanges Coinbase and Gemini among those considering listing or relisting the token. The ruling has not fully resolved the question of whether a digital asset meets the definition of a security under US law.

Additionally, Alex Mashinsky, co-founder and former CEO of crypto lender Celsius, has been arrested following an investigation into the company's collapse, and is charged with seven criminal counts including securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the price of Celsius' token CEL.