By George Ward
In 2020, the securities regulator accused Ripple of selling unregistered securities in 2013. However, the 2-year legal between the US SEC and Ripple, a blockchain firm, is nearing its climax.
In 2022, both entities had heated conversations as Ripple presented several pieces of evidence to vindicate itself while SEC countered them. The lawyers representing Ripple have defended the company in several court hearings.
Court Approves January 30th To Hear Ripple’s Ally, LBRY
Meanwhile, Ripple recorded some micro wins over the regulator, especially with the Hinman speech documents. The Ripple-SEC court battle gets interesting with each passing day as both parties attempt to counter each other.
Unfortunately, SEC has not been able to present substantial evidence in court. According to recent news, Ripple’s lawyer, John E. Deaton, has called January 30th a memorable date for Ripple.
The court overseeing the case granted LBRY, Ripple’s ally, permission to speak in court. LBRY’S motion is to limit the security regulator’s solutions. On December 28th, Deaton tweeted that the hearing is the most “important cryptocurrency hearing to date.”
According to the attorney, the securities watchdog is seeking a ‘disgorgement’ lawsuit against a non-party company. Deaton argued that this could have broader implications in the long term.
Also, lawyer Deaton talked about the SEC’s plans, which include a permanent mandate that might enable it to intervene in secondary crypto markets and prohibit transactions. Deaton criticized the SEC for requesting an excessive punitive ‘disgorgement.’
SEC Refuses To Release The Hinman Document
Moreover, the Ripple-SEC case has witnessed several turns and twists as new matters come to light each time. The securities regulator was heavily against disclosing the Hinman speech documents.
In a recent filing, the watchdog stated that it is not ready to allow the public to see the documents. Hence, “the agency respectfully upholds the position that the Hinman Documents are shielded from public view by privilege,” an official statement from the regulator read.
According to the agency, revealing the document to the public would be highly detrimental to its position. That’s because the SEC will not be able to make such arguments in this case or future cases.
In a recent development, Ripple has gained another advantage over the US SEC. Recently, the Department of Justice classified crypto assets such as the CRV and MNGO as commodities instead of securities.
This classification puts such assets under the purview of the CFTC and not SEC. This new development may give Ripple room to persuade the SEC to rethink its position on classifying XRP as a security.