The dispute between the SEC and Ripple has been going on for about two years at this point. Now, in separate papers that were both filed on September 17 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ripple and the SEC have both asked for a summary judgment to be issued. Many people believe that the lawsuit will be resolved far earlier than the date of March 2023 that was originally anticipated.
A request for a summary judgment is made when one of the parties in a prosecution considers that there is sufficient evidence for a ruling. Both parties have pleaded with Judge Analisa Torres to make a prompt decision regarding whether or not Ripple’s sales of XRP violated the laws governing securities transactions in the United States. However, it might not be as easy as it seems at first glance.
Is The SEC vs Ripple Case Concluding?
Ripple Labs and the SEC have both requested that an expedited decision be made by a federal judge over whether or not Ripple’s sales of XRP violate laws governing the sale of securities in the United States. Both Ripple and the SEC have asked the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for a summary judgment, although they did so in different applications that were filed on September 17. A request for a summary judgment is made to the court when one of the parties concerned considers that there is sufficient evidence at hand to make a decision without the necessity of continuing with the trial.
Both sides have requested that Judge Analisa Torres provide a judgment as soon as possible on the question of whether or not Ripple’s sales of XRP breached the laws governing securities transactions in the United States. Ripple has asserted that the SEC is out of answers to prove that the sale of XRP constitutes an “investment contract,” while the SEC has maintained its steadfast opinion that this is the fact. So far, the lawsuit appears to be going against the SEC. Throughout the entirety of the litigation, Ripple has secured a number of relatively minor victories.
In light of the foregoing, it is quite improbable that the SEC will give up in the face of a summary judgment that finds against them. If the summary judgment is rendered against the government agency, it is highly possible that the case will be prolonged even further. The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlington, has voiced his viewpoint over the SEC’s lack of compliance with the law on Twitter. Garlington is of the opinion that the SEC is actively working to gain additional authority over and above what Congress has given it.
In addition, the Chamber of Digital Commerce has filed a motion to intervene in the litigation. The chamber intends to convince the court that the virtual currency, XRP, and any transactions involving the asset are two separate entities. Even if the court concludes that XRP in this particular case qualifies as a security, the crypto industry will still gain a positive outcome if at least the necessity of two independent inquiries is acknowledged. Two different probes could further delay the investigation. Nevertheless, one must wait to see what Judge Torres determines to be appropriate.
The Way Forward For The XRP Community
Ripple, its former CEO Christian Larsen, and its current CEO Brad Garlinghouse were sued by the SEC in December 2020 for reportedly raising $1.3 billion through unlicensed securities sales using XRP. The move for summary judgment comes nearly two years after the SEC brought the lawsuit against Ripple. The filing of the papers by Ripple and the SEC elicited largely favorable comments from the XRP community, including one Twitter user expressing the belief that “the end is near”:
If the judge decides to go through and execute the summary judgment, the decision of the court will have a significant bearing on the process of establishing which cryptocurrencies fall under the definition of security under the laws of the United States. After the filing of the motion, the price of the XRP token climbed to levels not seen since July, hitting over $0.40. Since then, however, the token’s value has decreased significantly, and it is currently valued at $0.34.
