Former SEC Director Says Judgment On Ripple vs SEC Lawsuit To Come Within Days — XRP Price To $10?
$1 XRP Price Looks Nigh
A long-time enforcement attorney-cum-regional director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has predicted that Ripple’s long-standing tussle with the agency will conclude in days’ time.
Is The End Near?
The SEC-Ripple case, which has dragged on for over two years now, may be coming to an end very soon.
Marc Fagel, the former Regional Director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office, expects a judge to issue her ruling in the XRP lawsuit in the coming days. Fagel was responding to an XRP enthusiast who suggested in a tweet that the SEC withdrawing its lawsuits before summary judgment potentially undermines the presiding judge. A follow-up tweet noted that a delay in the verdict would bolster the argument that public relations influenced the judge’s decision and that it would lead to more confusion.
While trying to avoid speculation, Fagel posited that a court decision could be expected within days. In his opinion, any further delay in the lawsuit would be due to the complexities of the case and not any hidden agendas.
The SEC initiated its precedent-setting suit against Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and chairman Chris Larsen in the last quarter of 2020. The allegation: raising north of $1.2 billion from 2013 via the unlicensed sale of alleged security, XRP.
The XRP community was recently in uproar after the infamous William Hinman materials were released to the public. Ripple’s counsel argued that Hinman’s speech in 2018 — where he reportedly said that Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, was not a security — fostered confusion, leading market participants, including Ripple, to believe that XRP was not a security.
According to former SEC director Fagel, Ripple’s case is quite different from other enforcement actions recently launched by the securities watchdog. He opined that the judge would likely not address the Hinman documents or the secondary market trading matter. The emails, however, may be referenced in connection with a verdict on the individual defendants’ liability.
Implications Of The Impending Ruling
Weighing in on the Twitter conversation, XRP holders’ attorney John Deaton recalled his earlier argument that the greatest mistake in the suit was charging individual execs with aiding and abetting, sparking a recklessness standard. Nevertheless, Deaton is confident that no reasonable jury can find the two Ripple executives reckless.
The high-stakes drama between the SEC and Ripple is likely to be the defining moment for the broader crypto industry, not just for XRP. SEC chair Gary Gensler has frequently reiterated his belief that all cryptocurrencies — except for Bitcoin — are securities, signalling the Commission’s intent to scrutinize more crypto assets.
A Ripple defeat would hamper mainstream adoption, embolden the SEC to pursue similar cases, cause market turbulence, and an exodus of many ambitious crypto startups looking for friendlier jurisdictions away from the United States. Notably, Deaton, earlier this month predicted a 3% chance of District Judge Analisa Torres ruling in favor of the SEC.
A Ripple victory, on the other hand, would boost confidence in crypto assets and usher in a new era of investments. If this happens, the price of Ripple’s XRP could rocket to as high as $10 in no time, per Deaton.
