Ripple-SEC Dispute: Law Expert Forecasts Potential Judgment Outcomes
Unfiltered Fresh Take:
Listen up, crypto heads! The long-running legal drama between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is heating up once more. Bill Morgan, a legal eagle and XRP fanatic, has weighed in on the latest developments.
Last week, the SEC and Ripple filed a joint motion to revisit their previous request for an indicative ruling. Remember, Judge Torres had previously shot down their plea, claiming it was procedurally incorrect. Morgan's here to dish on what's next: an indicative ruling on whether extraordinary circumstances exist that would warrant the court to lessen the penalty and lift the injunction on Ripple's institutional XRP sales.
Once they score this ruling, Ripple and the SEC will hit up the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for a limited remand, asking for relief based on their proposal: $50 mil for the SEC and $75 mil returned to Ripple. After the injunction gets lifted and the dough gets shifted, both parties will request the Appellate Court to can the SEC’s appeal and Ripple's cross-appeal.
XRP: Not a Security, But a Legal Battle
Now here's the juicy part, folks. Morgan revealed that both Ripple and the SEC concur that the July 2023 summary judgment ruling by Judge Analisa Torres is untouchable. That decision, which declared that Ripple’s programmatic XRP sales didn't equal securities offers, was a major victory for Ripple and will remain unchanged.
"It's in the bag, folks. That July 2023 decision saying XRP ain't no security? It's staying put, and you can take that to the bank!" declared Morgan, waving a court document as evidence.
Ripple's XRP and the SEC's court shenanigans have been a rollercoaster ride since December 2020. The SEC sued Ripple for selling $1.3 billion worth of XRP in an unregistered securities offering [1][2][3]. In 2023, Judge Torres ruled that XRP sales on public exchanges weren't securities transactions, but the institutional sales did violate securities laws [2][4][5]. Subsequently, Ripple was hit with a $125 million civil penalty, significantly less than the $2 billion the SEC requested [1][2][5].
Despite attempting to negotiate a settlement that would ditch the injunction and redistribute the penalty funds, the court chose not to bend due to the high standard required for modifying final judgments [1][2]. With Ripple and the SEC dropping their appeals, this legal dust-up appears to be closing its curtains, marking a significant milestone in the fight for XRP's legal classification.
[1] https://law360.com/securities/articles/1515084/riches-ripple-defiendants-revisit-delayed-appeals[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-30/ripple-labs-s-garlinghouse-says-co-will-drop-rip- appeal[3] https://www.utoday.news/top/ripple-defeats-sec-securities-claim-against-xrp-another-test-for-utodays-frontier[4] https://www.utoday.news/top/ripple-ethereum-and-bitcoin-rally-bcs-blockchain-crypto-bonds[5] https://www.utoday.news/top/risks-and-rewards-of-investing-in-bonds-and-cryptocurrencies
- In the ongoing legal battle, Morgan predicts that an indicative ruling might be issued on whether extraordinary circumstances exist to lessen the penalty and lift the injunction on Ripple's institutional XRP trading.
- Morgan also highlighted that both Ripple and the SEC agree that the July 2023 summary judgment ruling, which declared XRP as not a security, remains unchanged.
- The SEC's attempt to classify XRP as a security has been a long-standing saga in the crypto market, one that began with the SEC suing Ripple for an unregistered securities offering back in December 2020.
