SEC v. Ripple: Tension mounts ahead of key decision in XRP lawsuit

Rick Steves

Finance Feeds will be ready to cover the “biggest decision in the XRP lawsuit 2.0” and the reactions to it. 

The SEC v. Ripple lawsuit has frustrated the public for over a year, ever since the Securities and Exchange Commission, the plaintiff that brought the case against the blockchain technology company, claimed privilege in order to keep critical information from being disclosed in court.

After William Hinman’s speech was accepted as his personal opinion by request of the SEC – so it couldn’t be used on Ripple’s fair notice defense – the court allowed the related notes and emails to be produced to Ripple.

The SEC showed intolerance to handing over such documents, which led the agency to claim the speech was also public guidance, which would be protected by deliberative process privilege.  (read more here)

This controversy only got bigger as the SEC made new and bold claims to keep the documents away from the court and the defendants, including claiming the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege. (read more here)

Judge Sarah Netburn has recently called both parties to clear up things at a hearing. The Magistrate didn’t go soft on the SEC’s attorneys and confronted them with their contradictory arguments. (read more here)

The hearing was earlier this month and the court’s final ruling on the Hinman debacle is expected to come down this week.

The biggest decision in XRP lawsuit, again

Although the “biggest decision in the XRP lawsuit” was already called, in April 2022, when Judge Sarah Netburn denied the SEC’s motion for reconsideration, the upcoming ruling serves the same purpose: to put an end to the SEC’s attempts to prevent the production of the infamous documents.

The reason why “amici” attorney John Deaton called it the “biggest decision” is because of the consequences it would bring for the outcome of the case, the future of both Ripple and the SEC, as well as the future of XRP and probably the overall cryptocurrency ecosystem in the United States.

The expectation is that, like in the previous ruling, the court’s next decision will include “a bulletproof section” that prevents the SEC from delaying the issue further via an appeal to the 2nd Circuit.

Besides the lower probability of further delays, the upcoming order may trigger a settlement between both parties sooner rather than later. This is because many suspect the SEC will not produce its internal files, even if it costs it the whole case.

All eyes will be on the next ruling in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit and Finance Feeds will be ready to cover the decision and the reactions to it.

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