key takeaways:
- According to Ripple’s Q1 report, the court’s 57-page conclusion in the US SEC v. Ripple lawsuit resulted in a summary judgement.
- SEC is criticised for prioritising enforcing regulation above developing unambiguous rules.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs are engaged in a legal battle, and the outcome of this case will be vital for the worldwide cryptocurrency market. A summary judgement in the XRP lawsuit is anticipated to get the market closer to regulatory certainty.
The consolidated judgement in the XRP lawsuit is anticipated to get the market closer to regulatory certainty. The anticipated end date of the US SEC and Ripple lawsuit was, however, noted by Ripple in its Q1 published report.
Recently, Ripple sent a letter to the US District Court regarding the SEC’s fair warning policy. It noted a recent Supreme Court decision that supported the fair notice defence used by the blockchain startup.
Ripple has been optimistic that the matter would be resolved in its favour after making this choice. The company’s general counsel, Stuart Alderoty, pointed out that Ripple’s specialists highlighted how the company’s contracts differ from prior adjudicated cases and that XRP’s tax and accounting treatment does not come within the title category.
The Court decided which expert opinions from the SEC and Ripple could be taken into account on summary judgement (and, if necessary, at trial) in a 57-page opinion that was released on March 6th.
In particular, the SEC’s expert’s testimony about the “reasonable expectations of an XRP purchaser” as well as their specialist’s effort to figure out what “prompted” the price of XRP to move were struck from the record.
It is important to note that Ripple Labs and the other plaintiffs anticipate receiving a ruling on the summary judgement by the end of 2023. However, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse previously said that he was hopeful of receiving a decision in the first half of this year.
XRP devotees and other members of the cryptocurrency world are eagerly awaiting Judge Torres’ summary judgement in the case. The timing of Judge Torres’ potential decision has been widely predicted.
Notably, the pro-XRP attorney James K. Filan’s March 31 forecast did not come true as many had expected. Filan has closely watched the dispute.
Ripple also raised concern over the US approach to cryptocurrency regulation, which has continued to emphasise rulemaking above regulation through enforcement. This can be understood in light of the fact that the SEC issued Wells notifications to Coinbase and Paxos citing multiple violations of securities laws and lack of registration.
