By Alicia Maher
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a case against XRP of Ripple Lab. Inc., in 2020 and a plausible end is near as XRP secures a mini-triumph over SEC in their latest encounter.
The lawsuit documented against Ripple for trading 1.3 billion dollars worth of XRP as security and currency without prior knowledge of the SEC crippled the stated cryptocurrency for a moment, but the odds had long begun to favor Ripple Labs. Inc.
What the Lawsuit Entailed
The suit filed by SEC was powerful enough to muffle any chance Ripple had of defending itself from the allegations filed against XRP. SEC claimed that the laws set in place concerning securities are understandable and Ripple ought to have known what is considered as an unregistered security.
SEC chief Gary Gensler claims a lot of cryptocurrencies, including XRP ought to be considered as securities rather than currencies.
The Fair Notice Defense
Ripple defended the accusation by SEC stating that they were not given directions or fair notice on the situation before SEC filed the lawsuit against them back in 2020.
Ripple also believes the commission has been biased on its application of the term “Security” on cryptocurrencies. They pointed out how the SEC waved off security regulations for Ethereum, and have actively pursued a case with Ripple on the same note.
The CEO of Ripple Lab. Inc., Brad Garlinghouse, declared that they were led to assume that everything was fine by the former commissioner of SEC, Elad Roisman in a meeting that was held back in 2018. Ripple seeks divulgence of the meeting’s recording contained in the “Estabrook Notes.”
The recent victory of Ripple elicited a lot of joy in the XRP community and one of these members publicly stated in a tweet that SEC is “toast”.
The Judge’s Ruling
The Judge in charge of the XRP Vs. SEC lawsuit, Analisa Torres declared that SEC was unable to justify and prove beyond a reasonable doubt, the point of their queries and ruled against their claim that Ripple was duly notified on rules guiding the sale of unlisted securities. Judge Torres affirmed the timely approach of Ripple to defend their case and Ripple claimed victory on this note.
The Future of XRP and Ripple
Despite the optimistic view of the case as the ruling is currently in favor of the defense, the lawsuit is nowhere near over and there is no telling when it will be. Ripple lawyers recently requested extra time on the court hearing till November.
XRP and Ripple market participants believe the lawyers expect the case to have died down by then.
Many people also believe that the SEC will most likely accept the loss to Ripple and end the case. This thought was given life after an interview Jon Stewart had with the current U.S. SEC chief Gary Gensler who patiently made a point on how the SEC could take some losses from time to time.