The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a reply to the letters filed by Ripple defendants in District Court regarding Supplemental Authority From the Bittner and Voyager cases. 

The last filings of Ripple defendants in the XRP lawsuit are expected to play a vital role in securing the Summary Judgment in their favor. The lawsuit has been ongoing since the SEC sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that the firm sold unregistered securities, XRP.

SEC’s Response

The letters contained remarks from two cases, Bittner v. United States and In re Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc., in which Ripple defendants had purported to support their “fair notice” defense. 

However, the SEC has contested this, claiming that neither case has any bearing on the fair notice defense, nor do they provide any basis to deny the SEC’s motion for summary judgment. 

The SEC went on to state that the Supreme Court’s actual holding in Bitter, a case involving the scope of penalties under a statute providing for both criminal and civil sanctions, has nothing to do with the fair notice defense defendants have attempted to invoke to defeat liability in this civil action.

The Voyager Case and its Effect on the Suit

Voyager is another case that the Ripple defendants attempted to use to support their fair notice defense. Yet, the SEC has argued that Voyager does not help Ripple defendants in any way. 

The bankruptcy plan involved the potential sale of a crypto asset conglomerate to another company, which included potential rebalancing transactions of Voyager’s holdings of a crypto asset known as “VGX.” 

The SEC raised an objection relating to the particular circumstances of the bankruptcy sale of Voyager’s assets, raising the possibility that the bankruptcy sale could raise issues under the securities laws. 

The bankruptcy judge overruled the SEC’s objection, noting that the SEC “did not take the position that any particular cryptocurrencies the tokens at issue in the proposed bankruptcy sale, which did not include XRP are securities.”

What’s Next for Ripple?

The outcome of the Ripple lawsuit is of great importance. If the blockchain company wins the case, it could set a precedent for the treatment of other cryptocurrencies that are currently under scrutiny by the SEC. 

Nevertheless, the SEC’s latest response indicates that it is not backing down, and that the outcome of the case is still very much uncertain. The trial is set to take place in late 2023, and until then, the crypto industry will be watching closely to see how the case unfolds.