Giving further credence to XRP Army, Byrne adds that the SEC was targeted by a “huge marketing campaign from Ethereum promoters, and people with large quantities of Ethereum” so that the SEC would “leave it alone in the name of technology.” But there’s yet more nuance. Byrne adds that there are other reasons the SEC could have chosen to prosecute Ripple and not Ethereum, including that Ripple continues to sell XRP on secondary markets. “If you sell tokens in the market on January 1, and you’re not supposed to do that, bang, that’s a violation,” says Byrne. “If you do it again on March 10, bang, that’s another violation.” Because of these repeat offenses, says Byrne, “I think it was easier to pin the tail on Ripple.”