If you think about it, they were probably advised by the SEC or the former SEC members that work for ripple to put it in escrow and do the smart contact for the very purpose of passing the review of it being a digital asset for utility and not a to be ruled as a security.
And if by some reason xrp were declared a security then it would be picked up on nasdaq or nyse quickly and all the brokerage firms and hedge funds could start trading it.
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