NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday it is appealing a court ruling that limits its ability to regulate cryptocurrency markets.

Wall Street’s top securities regulator will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to review a July 2023 ruling that the XRP (XRP-USD) token sold by Ripple Labs on public exchanges does not meet the legal definition of a security.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres meant that sales of the token, totaling approximately $757 million, were not subject to investor protection laws enforced by the SEC.

If the appeals court agrees or defines securities narrowly, it could impact the SEC’s ability to police cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and other defendants that sell or create markets for newer, non-traditional financial products.

Torres also handed the SEC a partial victory by saying another $728 million in XRP sales to institutional investors should have complied with securities laws.

In August, it fined Ripple $125 million but deferred the penalty pending an appeal. The SEC had demanded $2 billion. Torres’ stay would last pending the 2nd Circuit’s decision, court records show.

Ripple can also challenge parts of Torres’ rulings that it doesn’t like.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC’s decision to appeal was “misguided” and “angry” but not a surprise.

“While we will fight in court for as long as it takes, we want to make one thing clear: XRP’s status as a non-security is now the law of the land,” Garlinghouse said in a post on X.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Jamie Freed)