The SEC’s Ongoing Lawsuit Against Ripple Labs
The US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s legal battle with Ripple Labs, the fintech company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, faced another setback last week. Ripple Labs’ Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty tweeted on Friday that the “2d Circuit in SEC v Govil held that the SEC can’t ask for a crippling disgorgement award w/o (without) first proving that ‘investors’ suffered actual financial harm”. In simple terms, the SEC cannot impose a hefty fine on Ripple Labs unless they can demonstrate that investors suffered significant financial loss. This will be a challenging task considering the strong performance of the XRP cryptocurrency since its inception.
Ripple’s Winning Momentum
Optimism about Ripple’s progress in the lawsuit against the SEC may partly explain the recent surge in XRP’s value. XRP is currently trading slightly above $0.71, representing a more than 15% increase since Saturday. Additionally, technical indicators suggest that the cryptocurrency has the potential for further gains. After facing resistance in the $0.55 to $0.5850 range, XRP broke through this level and now encounters no significant obstacles until reaching yearly highs around $0.95.
Given these factors, if the broader crypto market continues to rise and optimism surrounding the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit persists, it is not far-fetched to expect gains of over 30% from current levels.
“Anyone who has argued that the SEC got a 50-50 victory in the Ripple case earlier this year are 100% wrong.”
– John E Deaton, lawyer closely following the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit
John E Deaton, a lawyer closely monitoring the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit, disagreed with the notion that the SEC achieved a 50-50 outcome in the case earlier this year. He argued that a judge’s ruling in July indicated a clear advantage for Ripple Labs, stating that the decision “was more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor”. Deaton further claimed that if Ripple ends up paying $20 million or less, it would be considered a 99.9% legal victory.
Not everyone in the crypto community on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) agreed on the interpretation of the situation. Wayne Vaughan, the CEO of Tierion, expressed the view that victory against the SEC entails paying a small fine and being able to continue operations. Vaughan even suggested that settling the dispute without a lengthy court battle would be even better. Conversely, some individuals, such as Crypto Advisor, argued that the SEC should compensate XRP investors for the damage caused.
