Pro-Ripple attorney John E. Deaton has laid out a scenario that could result in a 99.9% win for Ripple in the SEC’s XRP lawsuit.
In a recent post, Deaton notes that a settlement of $20 million or less would represent a major legal win for the San Francisco-headquartered blockchain payments company.
90% Chance Of Win
Widely-followed crypto attorney John Deaton has suggested that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) only has a 10% chance of winning its courtroom battle over the XRP token, with 90% odds in Ripple’s favor. Deaton strongly disagreed with the idea that the outcome of the suit was an even 50/50 for the regulator.
The XRP holders’ attorney’s remarks came in response to a post by Ripple’s legal head Stuart Alderoty, who brought attention to the most recent legal setback for the SEC.
Deaton goes on to say that if Ripple ends up paying $20 million or less as penalties, it will constitute a favorable resolution for the company.
The people who’ve argued that the SEC got a 50-50 victory in the @Ripple case are
wrong. It was more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor. If Ripple ends up paying $20M or less it’s a 99.9% legal victory. https://t.co/Xe6SYBiTCJ
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) November 4, 2023
Ripple Suit
To say the SEC lawsuit has been a stain on Ripple would be a gross understatement. Weeks after the case was initiated, almost all U.S.-based crypto exchanges discontinued XRP trading. Ripple’s relationships with major partners like MoneyGram also swiftly ended, and CEO Garlinghouse started suggesting his company would relocate to friendlier jurisdictions.
Ultimately, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan concluded in July that the sale of the XRP cryptocurrency to customers on exchanges and via algorithms did not constitute an unregistered securities offering. The lawsuit also took a huge turn recently when the SEC voluntarily dismissed its charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Christian Larsen.
That said, Ripple’s three wins in its multi-year legal tussle with the securities watchdog have brought a modicum of regulatory clarity to the crypto industry.
As the Ripple-SEC case continues, the next important date might be November 9, 2023, when the two parties are scheduled to jointly propose a briefing schedule about the appropriate remedies against Ripple for Section 5 violations associated with its institutional sales of XRP.
XRP is currently soaring, seeing a 14% rise in the past 24 hours to surpass BNB as the fourth-largest crypto asset, though still over 80% down from its 2018 historic high of $3.40.
